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Jdubya
23-01-07, 04:21 PM
Shamelessly copied from Crash.net:-

The Virgin Mobile Yamaha squad have announced the inception of a brand new two-man team that will contest the hotly fought 2007 British Supersport Championship.

Billy McConnell and Tom Grant, who won the R6 Cup in 2005 and 2006 respectively, will head up the new team. This is the first time that Yamaha UK has pledged full support to a British Supersport team.

Rob McElnea, team manager, has worked tirelessly with Yamaha UK over the last four years helping with the development and progression of young riders within motorcycle sport. The new Supersport team highlights these endeavours, and with the two most recent champions spearheading the new team, it provides McElnea with the opportunity to showcase the talent produced by the Cup's continued success.

"We are all very excited about stepping into the ultra competitive Supersport class," said McElnea, "We have watched this series for a few seasons and seen some fantastic racing and amazing talent come through. With the Superbike series running at an amazing world class pace, putting this stepping stone in place for our Cup champions will give us time to hopefully nurture them for the 'Big Step' to Superbike."

To date Grant is the youngest cup Champion as McElnea went on to say, "Tom Grant, at 18, is our youngest Virgin Mobile Cup champion and will benefit from a year on a Supersport bike. His confidence will grow running at the front of the pack. Billy had a great season last year with us in the Superbike series and will definitely start as a title contender. Our long term plan to develop our young guns just gets better!"

Grant has elected to run in the Virgin Mobile Supersport Team after long and careful deliberation. He could have opted for a Superbike ride but has chosen the hotly contested Supersport series as a base on which to build a season of solid experience before making a further step up into the premier class. With three victories and ten podiums on the way to emphatically claiming the 2006 title, Grant is confident of continuing his winning ways from last season as he makes the transition into the Supersport class.

The young rider is eager to get on track and prove himself, "I can't wait to get on the bike and to get the bike onto the podium. Really looking forward to working closely with the team next season. I am pleased with my decision to run in Supersport as I feel this will be a more progressive route to gaining valuable experience in the British Championship," said Grant.

Twenty-year old McConnell had a highly successful first season in 2006 onboard the Virgin Mobile Yamaha R1. The young Australian rider capped a brilliant debut Superbike season with a spirited 7th place at the climactic round at Brands Hatch in October. He has the determination and aptitude to challenge for the British Supersport title honours in 2007, and will prove a valuable addition to the team in terms of bike and rider development.

McConnell is under no illusions as to how tough the Supersport class is, saying, "With a number of excellent riders returning to Supersport next season, it will be a hard fought campaign and I am relishing the opportunity to put the Virgin Mobile Yamaha R6 on the podium as often as I can."

The team will embark on a series of tests ahead of the first round of the 2007 season that takes place over the Easter weekend of 7 – 9 April at Brands Hatch, Kent.

Essex of Essex
23-01-07, 06:04 PM
This should add some fizz to an already very competitive race series :)