2008 News
Snetterton
Picture courtesy of Dean Owen.
Christian's combined qualifying
position for what was to be a double header round was 21st on the grid,
although in the second qualifying session he was 19th. In
the first race he finished in 19th place and was then looking forward to
improving in the second race. However a clean up operation on the
circuit was hampered by a thunder storm meaning that the second of the
two races had to be postponed. This race has now been rescheduled
to allow for a double header at Oulton Park on 20th July, where grid
positions will be determined by qualifying at Oulton Park.
Donington Park
Picture courtesy of Dean Owen.
Christian struggled with bike
over the weekend and unpredictable weather conditions didn't help
matters. In free practice on Saturday he was 19th fastest but this
dropped to 24th in the first qualifying session. The second
qualifying session was wet and he was able to put in the 12th fastest
time of the session, but due to the lap times being slower he did not
improve on his first qualifying position.
The race took place in windy
but dry conditions but was red flagged after two thirds race distance as
the leading riders indicated that rain was starting to fall around the
circuit. Christian finished the race in 27th place.
The team are now hoping to
carry out some testing with the Kawasaki ZX10 prior to the next round at
Snetterton on 15th June.
North West 200
Following on from last years
success at the North West 200 Christian was this year entered in the
Superbike and Superstock class as well as the 250cc race.
Christian was riding the same Superstock bike in both the Superstock and
Superbike classes. In the Superbike class he qualified in
32nd place but was able to make progress in both races finishing 18th in
Superbike race 1 and 19th in Superbike race 2. Unfortunately a refueling
error in the rush between races meant that Christian did not finish the
Superstock race, which he had qualified in 18th position for.
In the Greenline 250 race
Christian had set the 4th quickest time in the first qualifying session
on the Tuesday night. In the race a battle soon developed between
Christian and Michael Dunlop, with the lead changing hands on a number
of occasions. Christian was leading for the majority of the last
lap but went wide at Metropole where Michael went through and managed to
maintain the lead to take the chequered flag.
Pictures courtesy of Alan
Armstrong.
Brands Hatch
Christian was looking forward
to racing at Brands Hatch where he would be starting the race from 14th
position on the grid. On the first lap Christian had a coming
together with Peter Hickman at Druids, but was able to rejoin the
race. However the race was stopped due to three other bikes being
involved in an incident at the first corner. The race was
restarted but on lap 6 Christian was once again hit by Hickman, who had
problems with his brakes, and taken out of the race. The
Motorcycle Centre Stockport ZX10 was considerably damaged and Christian
suffered a slight wrist injury. The team now have a lot of work to
do as they are headed straight over to Ireland to compete in the North
West 200.
Oulton Park
Christian and the team
struggled to get a good set up for the bike this weekend. In free
practice Christian was in 24th position but was able to improve on this
to finish the first qualifying session in 18th place. During the
second qualifying session he fell back to 22nd place which was his
eventual grid position. He was able to make up 3 places
during the race to finish in 19th place. The team head to Brands
Hatch for the rescheduled opening round before going over for the North
West 200.
Thruxton
Christian and the team had to
spend time during free practice and qualifying sessions working on the
right set up for the bike. In the free practice session Christian
was in 28th position and although he posted a faster time in first
qualifying he did not improve on position. During second
qualifying Christian was 17th fastest, but times were slower meaning
that he took 28th place on the grid. Christian made places within
the race finishing in 18th place. The team look forward to the
next round of the Championship which is at their home track, Oulton
Park, on Bank Holiday Monday, May 5.
Brands Hatch
Christian qualified to start
the race from 16th place on the grid. In the first qualifying
session he was 13th quickest, but was unable to improve in the second
session, giving his grid position as 16th. However on the Sunday
morning heavy snow meant that the organisers had no alternative but to
cancel the days event, postponing the races until May 10 & 11.
Grid positions from the qualifying sessions that had already taken place
will stand for the rescheduled race.
2007 News
Brands Hatch
The final round
of the British Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch was disappointing
in terms of free practice, qualifying and race position for
Christian. On Friday he rode the 07 Honda CBR600RR coming in 28th
place in the first session and 32nd place in the second session.
Christian chose to ride the 06 bike for the first qualifying session on
Saturday but could only managed to secure 36th place. For the
second session he went back out on the 07 bike and qualified to start
the race from 34th place on the grid.
Christian was
able to make some progress during the race fighting for position with
two other riders during the last few laps before the race was red
flagged. He finished in 26th position in the race overall and 5th
place in the Privateers Cup.
With the final
points added up things were more positive as Christian finished the
season in 3rd place in the Privateers Cup.
Christian said
"I'm happy to finish 3rd in the Privateer's Cup and would like to
thank the team and my sponsors for their support. I hope that I
will still be riding for BBR Racing next season."
Stars at Darley Moor
Christian was
entered into the Stars at Darley Moor races on Sunday riding the BBR
Racing CBR600RR. Christian qualified for the races in 14th place
and was racing against riders on 1000cc machines including John
McGuiness on the Stobart Vent Axia Honda, who went on to win both
races. Christian finished 9th in the first race and in 8th place
in the second. He also won the award for the fastest 600cc lap.
Christian now
looks forward to the last round of the British Supersport Championship
at Brands Hatch where he will be challenging for 2nd place in the
Privateers Cup and a top 15 finish in the race.
Donington Park
Christian
qualified in 25th place for the penultimate round of the championship at
Donington Park. Throughout the race he made good progress and was
lying in 19th position when the race was stopped due to another
competitors bike spilling oil on the track near Craner Curves. The
restarted race was run over 8 laps with Christian starting from 19th
place on the grid. He was able to make some progress and was
riding hard to make up more places when he made a small mistake at the
Esses that left him no time to make up any further places, finishing the
race in 17th place and 3rd place in the Privateers Cup.
However two
riders ahead of Christian were later disqualified for technical reasons
meaning that he was elevated to 2nd place in the Privateers Cup and 15th
place overall earning him 1 championship point. Christian is now
lying in 3rd position in the Privateer Championship. The final
round of the championship is at Brands Hatch on Sunday 14 October.
Cadwell Park
Christian
started the Bank Holiday race from 31st place on the grid having
suffered technical problems during the first qualifying session on the
Sunday. Prior to this the team had continued to work on the 07
CBR600RR and were making steady progress. The technical
difficulties meant that Christian had to compete in the second
qualifying session on the 06 bike.
The team worked
hard and were able to change the engine so that Christian could start
the race on the 07 bike. During
the race Christian made a good start and was able to make up places
throughout the 16 laps to finish in 18th place overall and 4th position
in the Privateers Cup. He is currently in 4th place in the
Privateers Championship standings.
The next round
of the Championship is at Donington Park on 23 September.
Croft
Christian and
BBR Racing were able to use this weekend's race meeting to continue to
develop the 07 Honda CBR600RR. Free practice was used to compare
the 06 and 07 CBR600RRs and the team made the decision to run with the
07 bike in order to continue development work.
Christian
qualified to start the race from 23rd position on the grid. As the
race got underway Christian made a good start but then lost places
having to avoid two other riders who crashed out in front of him,
leaving him in 27th position by the end of lap one. He was able to
make steady progress throughout the race but was unable to get passed
Ben Wylie and Ross Walter who were also fighting for third place in the
Privateers Cup. Christian eventually finished the race in 20th
position overall and 5th place in the British Supersport Cup section of
the race.
The team will
continue to make improvements to the bike ahead of the next round at
Cadwell Park. The race takes place on Bank Holiday Monday, 27
August.
Mallory Park
Picture courtesy of Helen Pask
Following
on from the disappointment at Oulton Park BBR Racing rider Christian
Elkin was back on the podium this weekend.
During
Friday's first free practice session rider Christian Elkin was in 18th
position. However torrential rain and a serious incident in the
Superbike free practice led to the remainder of Friday's track activity
being suspended. Track activity resumed on Saturday afternoon for
free practice but no qualifying took place with the grid for Sunday's
race being decided on Championship position.
Christian
started the race from 20th position on the grid and finished the race in
17th position overall and 2nd in the privateers cup section of the
race. This result has lifted Christian back to third place in the
Privateers Championship.
Christian
said "I'm very happy with BBR Racing and would also like to thank
all my sponsors. The team are working hard at the moment to get
the 07 bike on the pace and we're positive that we will have the pace
for Croft. I'm happy to have regained third position in the
privateers cup".
Christian
would also like to offer his condolences to Ollie Bridewell's family,
friends and team.
Oulton Park
BBR
Racing had a difficult weekend at Oulton Park partly due to weather
conditions. Fridays free practice took place in wet conditions and
the team decided to concentrate on the 07 bike. In the first free
practice rider Christian Elkin was 32nd fastest but improved to 25th in
the second session. On Saturday the conditions were dry but windy
and Christian finished 19th in the first qualifying session but in the
second session he moved down to start from 21st place on the grid.
For
Sunday morning warm up the weather conditions were very wet and windy
and Christian was 30th in the warm up session. For the race the
wet and windy conditions were almost monsoon-like and Christian did not
get a good start and was boxed in on the first corner. He was
unable to recover from the poor start until mid race distance. It
was obvious to the team that Christian was struggling with rear wheel
grip and horse power. Team Manager Chris Barton said "Credit
where it's due, he [Christian] stuck at it and finished the race in 20th
position." Within the privateers cup section of the
Championship Christian finished in 8th position and has slipped back to
4th in the standings.
Dyno
work has been carried out on the bike during the week and this shows
that the 07 bike is 10 bhp down on the 06 bike. As Mallory is the
weekend immediately after Oulton this leaves little time and the team
will decided during the free practice on Friday which bike to use.
One of the problems is that the team needs a testing budget as at
present they are in effect testing at the meetings.
Team
Manager Chris Barton said "We need more financial help to develop
the 07 bike. At testing budget would help us progress much
faster. If anyone can help us with this please contact me on 07710
507535."
Knockhill
Picture courtesy of Sylvia
Beaumont.
BBR
Racing headed north of the border to Knockhill Circuit, near Edinburgh.
Friday's practice sessions took place in dry conditions and in the first
session rider Christian Elkin rode the '07 bike running in 20th
position, 3rd in the Supersport Cup. After this session Christian
was undecided as to whether the developments the team had made to the
bike since Mondello Park would suit Knockhill Circuit. In the
second free practice session Christian rode both the 06 and 07 bike
completing 32 laps. Following a team discussion after the second
free practice is was decided that the 07 bike needed more development to
be competitive and that Christian would ride the 06 bike for the
remainder of the weekend. Qualifying sessions took place in dry
conditions with Christian qualifying in 21st position, 3rd in the
Supersport Cup.
On
race day the weather was cloudy and wet for warm up with Christian
completing 10 laps and running 19th fastest. However as the day
progressed the weather played havoc with the race schedule and the
original 13:50 hrs start did not happen. Eventually the race got
underway at 17:05 hrs in tricky weather conditions. A decision was
made to run on wet tyres, front and rear. Christian made a good
start circulating in 15th place very early in the race and moved forward
to get up to 10th place and leading the privateers cup. By this
time however the track was drying out dramatically and this proved to be
the Achiles Heel for the team as some riders on dry tyres manager to
overtake Christian on the last few laps.
Christian
finished in 13th place overall, 2nd in the Supersport Cup section of the
race, with him lying in 3rd place in the Privateers championship.
Team
Manager Chris Barton said, " I was very happy that Christian scored
points and maintained his momentum in the championship. His riding
was very consistent over the weekend."
The
team now continue to work hard on improving the 07 bike for Oulton Park.
The race takes place on Sunday 15 July.
Mondello Park
Christian
rode the BBR
Racing 07 CBR600RR for the first time at Mondello Park
this weekend. During Friday's free practice sessions the
team worked hard on getting a base setting for the bike. A
late tip off during the day did not affect Christian's
confidence and improvements to
the bike continued to be made throughout Saturday with him qualifying in 9th position, a best grid position for both BBR
Racing and Christian.
Friday
practice and Saturday qualifying took place in wet conditions
which turned out to be a concern as in warm up on Sunday Christian was
running in 20th position. During the race Christian
made a good start on the 07 bike, but became boxed in at the first
corner and continued to drop back as the race went on. At
the time that the race was red flagged Christian was running in
21st place.
The
second restart was also red flagged following a serious incident
involving 3 other riders. Again Christian was not happy with
the 07 bike and following a meeting with the team, Team Manager
Chris Barton made the decision to send Christian out on the 06
bike, despite it not having being run over the weekend.
The
third restart was a 9 lap race and Christian found more pace
making progress to 14th place overall and 3rd in the Supersport
Cup. It was looking like he was on for a top 10 finish but
an oil breather pipe broke on the bike resulting in Christian
being blacked flagged.
Christian
said "I was a little disappointed that the 07 bike was not fast enough in the dry conditions,
but the team are working
hard to improve this before the next round at Knockhill. I'm
really looking forward to riding the bike again as it feels really
good. It was also a disappointment for myself and the team that
the 06 bike was unable to complete the race.
"I
would like to thank the team for their hard work, and my sponsors
for all their support."
Christian
would also like to offer his condolences to Guy
Sander's family, friends and team.
Snetterton - Round 5
Picture courtesy of Helen Pask
Following on
from his recent success in the North West 200 Christian returned to
riding in the British Supersport Cup at Snetterton this weekend.
Technical problems meant that Christian was unable to take part in the
second practice session on Friday and the team had to work late in to
the night getting the bike prepared for the qualifying sessions on
Saturday. Christian eventually qualified to start the race from
27th place on the grid. During the race he was able to make good
progress and finished the race in 2nd place in the Supersport Cup
section of the race, 15th overall earning a point in the British
Supersport Championship and being his best finishing position in the
series this year.
North West 200 -
Christian Wins 250 race!!
Picture courtesy of Alan Armstrong
Competing for
the first time at the NW 200 Christian has won the Greenline 250 race
starting from 4th position on the second row of the grid.
As the race started Christian lost a few places dropping back to
7th going in to the first corner. However he was able
to regain position and to move forward and take the lead by the end of
the first lap. Christian led
the race for the majority of the time, swapping places and battling with
John McGuiness for the race win.
Picture courtesy of Baylon McCaughey
www.irishracephotography.com
In
the Supersport races Christian finished in 18th place in the
first race and 15th in the second Supersport race after
starting from 22nd on the grid and in the second wave of
starts. Christian felt that
if he had qualified well enough to have started in the first wave he could
have had a better result. He
came first out of the riders in the second wave of starts in both
racers.
Picture courtesy of Baylon
McCaughey www.irishracephotography.com
Christian
was also called up to the podium after the last race of the day to be
presented with the Best Newcomers Award and therefore another trophy.
Being
interviewed for local radio after the 250 race Christian said,
"That was absolutely awesome to beat John McGuinness.
Obviously to even race against him is awesome as he has just won the
first superbike race and the rest of the competition was strong as well.
"It's
great for myself, BBR Racing, P R Bowyer Electrical, McCready Racing,
Lintons of Northern Ireland, Turtle Transport and all my other
sponsors. I would also like to thank Mervyn White and all the race
organisers for putting on a good event".
North West 200
Qualifying
Competing in
his first ever Road Race Christian has completed two evenings of
qualifying sessions. On Tuesday night he was 4th fastest in the 250cc
class but technical issues meant that he was only able to complete 3
laps on the 600cc machine.
On Thursday
night Christian was 2nd fastest in the 250cc class but the track was wet
which meant that he will keep his 4th place starting position on the
second row of the grid. In the 600cc class Christian qualified in
20th position having a good run. However due to the wet track,
times from Tuesday night were quicker and Christian will start the race
from 22nd on the grid.
Team manager
Chris Barton is pleased with the qualifying results and said
"Christian seems confident and has his eye on the best newcomer
award".
Christian said
"I'm enjoying the atmosphere and finding it reasonably easy to
learn the track. I'm enjoying the speed and the excitement of
riding on the roads.
"I would
like to thank all the team and sponsors for all the hard work that they
have put in to this week."
To see
Christian spending some time relaxing in the company of Michael Rutter
and Nathan Pallett click on the following link. www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/tv/nw200/video4.shtml
Oulton Park
- Round 4
Christian qualified in 27th place for
the May Day Bank Holiday race at his local circuit. Once the race
got underway Christian showed his true form and was one of four riders
fighting for 1st position in the Supersport Cup section of the race,
with Christian just losing out to Ben Wylie and taking second position
in the Cup, 16th position overall.
Christian said, "I'm happy with
how things are going and making steady progress with the team every
weekend.
"I'd like to thank Dan, my Crew Chief,
for all his hard work and dedication. I'd also like to thank the
rest of the team for all their efforts not just at the meetings but the
rest of the week as well.
"I'd also like to thank my sponsors -
Bob Bowyer of PR Bowyer Electrical, McCready Racing, M & R
Davenport, Fast H Racing, Ian Beaumont, Motorcycle Centre Stockport,
Lintons of NI and Turtle Transport".
This week Christian competes in his
first ever Road Race at the NW200 riding the BBR 600 Honda and the
RS250. Updates will appear throughout the week.
The next BSB round is at Snetterton in
Norfolk 18 - 20 May.
Silverstone
- Round 3
Christian is still coming to terms
with getting used to riding the Honda and qualified in 28th place.
However during the race Christian was fighting for a podium finish,
coming in less than a second behind Craig Fitzpatrick. He finished
4th in the Supersport Cup section of the race, 18th overall.
Thruxton -
Round 2
Round 2 at Thruxton was less than a
week after the first race of the season at Brands Hatch and saw
Christian qualify to take 29th place on the grid. On the formation
lap an engine sensor developed an oil leak, which the team tried to
repair on the grid. Unfortunately the attempt to repair the leak
was not successful and Christian had to pull in after the first lap.
Brands
Hatch - Round 1
Christian had a crash in the second
free practice session on the exit to Surtees suffering quite a severe
finger injury and some muscle damage to his shoulder. Despite this
he was able to ride and managed to qualify in 13th position. With
his injuries still causing some concern he finished the race in 5th
place in the Supersport Cup section of the race, 18th overall.
Official
MCRCB Test 24 & 25 March 2007
Christian and the team completed a
successful test at Snetterton this weekend. This was the first
time they had tested in the wet, and the experience was useful.
Christian and the team are working
well together and are looking forward to the first round at Brands Hatch
over Easter weekend. Practice is on Saturday 7 April, qualifying
on 8 April and race day on Bank Holiday Monday, 9 April.
Shake Down
Test at Cadwell Park
Following the
disappointment of only completing 5 laps when testing at Cartegena last
month Christian and BBR Racing completed a successful shake down test at
Cadwell Park on Saturday (17 March).
Christian
completed a number of laps familiarising himself with the Honda
CBR600RR, which he soon became comfortable with.
Christian said
"I felt comfortable with the bike really quickly and enjoyed
working with the team. I'm grateful to BBR Racing for giving me
this opportunity and would also like to thank all of my sponsors."
"Despite
only completing 5 laps in Spain the time out there was not wasted as we
spent time team building and getting to know each other."
Christian is
now looking forward to the MCRCB Official Test at Snetterton on 24 &
25 March.
|
