Well, its all over with for another season! And what a season it  was, seeing Connor finish a very respectable 3rd place overall in  the National Superstock 600 Series. Connor claimed his first win  aboard the 600’s and broke 2 lap records in the process. Luck ran  out a little at Donington, and Connor had his first DNF of the  season, followed by another at Silverstone. But the consistency  over the earlier rounds paid off and he managed to hold his 3rd  position overall in the Championship. Looking ahead to 2012, it is  looking like a step up to Superstock 1000 (The top 3 in  Superstock 600 are unable to enter the series again).

Connor also had his first taste of road racing at the Southern 100  in the Isle of Man, back in July this year, where he picked up the  Best Newcomers Award and finished 4th in his class in the Station  Garage 125/400cc race. 2011 also saw Connor winning the Junior  Open and coming runner up in the Formula 400 and Forgotten Era  Championships in the Wirral 100 Series.

We would like to thank everyone who has helped us this season, we really could not have done it without your help, these include all #72 Club members, Team Green/Bristol Kawasaki, Maxton Engineering, Vital:signs, CNG, Dyno-pro racing, Also Media, BC Motorcycle Training, VanZant Web Design, Semtex Ltd, Cheshire Hardware, R.E.D. MXI - Rally Engineering Development and Glynne Lewis Photography.  Not forgetting all the friends and family who have put their hands in their pockets to make this season such a success! Thank you all!

We would also like to take this opportunity to remember all those who sadly lost their lives for their beloved sport, not only this season, but in previous years too. 2011 has been such a cruel year - RIP Boys, we will remember you always.

A busy weekend at Donington in the heart of England, with two races for the Superstock 600 riders. The first being the re-run of the Oulton Park race which was cancelled due to bad weather, back in July. The qualifying times stood from then, which saw Connor take the position of 9^th on the grid. The race being 10 laps, Connor got off to a good start and shot up to 3^rd place behind Farmer and Irwin. Lap 5 saw Deane Brown take Connor and a mini battle with Brown and Blackshaw began. Lap 8 saw Connor retake 3^rd place from Brown, then he had a huge moment which dropped him back down to 5^th. Desperately seeking a podium, Connor managed to take Johnny Blackshaw but was unable to pass Deane Brown and crossed the line just 0.235 second behind, taking 4^th place and 13 Championship points.

Race 2, Connor qualified in 6^th place. He got an  excellent start and took to the front, leading for the  first 4 laps, then a nudge by Irwin took Connor on  to the grass and he dropped back down to  4^th behind Irwin, Blackshaw and Brown. An  adrenaline fuelled Behan, desperate to regain his  position, saw him tip off at the Melbourne Hairpin,  luckily unhurt he jumped back on the bike, but had  to retire to the pits with a broken gear leaver.  Meanwhile back in the race, Irwin continued to lead and finally took the chequered flag, with Blackshaw and Brown finishing off the podium. Championship leader Keith Farmer finished in 6^th place and secured the 2011 title, with Connor 58 points adrift and only 50 points available out of the next two races. Connor still sits in 2^nd place in the Championship, but the gap closes behind him, only 10 points clear of Glenn Irwin.

Very disappointed with the outcome of the second race, giving Connor his first DNF of the season, but with a small consolation of setting the new lap record of 1:35.920 on lap 6 of the race.

The pen-ultimate round at Silverstone in a fortnight, Connor will be fighting to keep his 2^nd place in the Championship.

First practise at the Brands Hatch Circuit took place Friday morning on the Indy Circuit, with Connor  getting a good start to the weekend and posting the 2^nd fastest time behind James East.

1^st Qualifying was on the Grand Prix Circuit and Connor continued to post solid lap times, his quickest being 1:31.996, 3^rd fastest behind provisional pole setter James East and Freddie Russo.

2^nd Qualifying later in the day, Connor excelled and posted a 1:30.990, 0.521 quicker than East, giving him his first Pole of the season.

Come Race Day, Connor’s confidence shone, taking full advantage of his Pole Position, he got off to a blinding start, leading into the first corner and creating a gap immediately. Unfortunately grief came to James East who lost the front end, taking out Glenn Irwin who was sitting 3^rd in the Championship.

Connor continued to increase the gap, with Farmer and Russo vying for 2^nd and 3^rd position.

On lap 4, the safety car was deployed after Brad Anderson tipped off, and the bunch closed up behind. Having to do all the hard work again, Connor had a plan, and when the safety car went in, he slowed, then shot off leaving the pack to follow, this worked, as Farmer dropped from 2^nd to 8^th and Freddie Russo moved to 2^nd place. Again Connor increased his lead, and on lap 8, he broke the lap record with a time of 1:31.084, the previous being 1:31.210

Cruising to his first Superstock 600 win and new lap record, Connor had an excellent weekend in a lights to flag victory. Closing the points between Series leader Keith Farmer, he stands in 2^nd place with 96 points, just 26 points behind Farmer with 5 rounds to go.

The team would like to thank all the sponsors that have made Connors success possible, these include Team Green/Bristol Kawasaki, CNG Ltd, Brabus Enterprises, Maxton Suspension, Dynopro Racing, Vital:signs of Northwich, BC Motorcycle Training, Semtex Ltd, AlsoMedia, Glynne Lewis Photography, Knox, VanZant Web Design and all the #72 Club Members.

The 125cc/400cc that could not be run on Wednesday was slotted into the Thursday morning programme to be the final race before lunch. The 125cc race was going according to the script on the first lap with Chris Palmer, William Dunlop and Ian Lougher covered by a few metres as they approached the corner for the first time. As Palmer and Lougher banked into the corner; Dunlop peeled away and stopped his machine briefly; before touring to the pits to retire. In the 400cc class Alistair Haworth had grabbed the initiative to lead by 1.2s as he rounded Cross Four Ways for the first time. Peter Simpson was in second; closely followed by another local man; Adam Jones.

Palmer led Lougher by 2s on lap 2; whilst Lougher held an advantage over the soon to retire Lee Vernon of 6.2s. In the 400cc class Haworth led from Simpson by 2.6s with Jones 0.9s in arrears of him. The pattern for the race was set in the smaller class with Palmer increasing his lead and Lougher pulling steadily away from Nigel Moore. Whilst Haworth was secure in his position; Simpson and Jones had been joined in battle by impressive newcomer Connor Behan; Dave Madsen-Mygdal and Dave Moffitt. Once ahead in this battle Dave Madsen-Mygdal moved away from Simpson. Dave Moffitt retired at Cross Four Ways on the final lap; whilst Connor Behan nursed his smoking machine home to claim 6^th overall and 4^th in class.

Station Garage 125cc/400cc Race

1. Chris Palmer                                 125 Mannin Honda                   93.967mph

2. Alistair Haworth                            400 Yamaha                                93.202mph

3. Ian Lougher                                   125 Honda                                   92.868mph

4. Dave Madsen-Mygdal                     400 Honda                                   92.422mph

5. Peter Simpson                               400 Honda                                   92.127mph

6. Connor Behan                               399 Honda                                   91.859mph

Oulton Park Junior Superstock 600 Round 7.

Round 7 of the Junior Superstock 600 at Connors local track of Oulton Park was a very testing time for the team. P1, Connor managed only 5 laps before pulling in to the pits with mechanical problems. Qual 1, later on the Friday, only managing to complete 3 laps he was forced again in to the pits, the problem being with the power commander. Luckily, living local had its advantages, and it was off to Dyno-pro racing in Runcorn, where the Team worked through the night trying to fix the bike. At the end of Q1, Connor stood in 25^th place, and we were praying for a dry session on the Saturday, so he could improve on his times. By the time Q2 arrived, it had stopped raining and the track was drying out quickly, luckily Connor managed to improve on his times and jump to 9^th place, not ideal but good considering the track conditions and the earlier shortened practise and qualifying. Warm up was held on the Saturday, due to time restrictions at the circuit, Connor posted a 1:43.634 lap, 2^nd fastest.

Come race day, it could be described in one word ‘washout’. The whole racing programme was delayed, due to the atrocious weather conditions at the leafy Cheshire circuit. Races were shortened, stopped and ultimately abandoned as the track was deemed too dangerous to proceed, with standing water on various parts of the track. With the Superstock 600 race scheduled to be the last race of the day, we had a good inclination at the start of the meeting, that it would not be run. The re-run will take place at the Donington Round on Saturday 10^th September. Although bitterly disappointed the race was cancelled, we believe it was a very wise decision by race control.

Anglesey Wirral 100

Another impressive round of the Wirral 100 at the coastal circuit in Anglesey, saw Connor notch up no less than 9 wins in various classes. Competing in the Junior Open, Forgotten Era and F400 Series, he produced sterling results on board the TDR Machine. Connor was forced to miss the previous Wirral 100 meeting at Anglesey, due to it clashing with the BSB meeting at Thruxton, but he currently leads the Junior Open Championship, whilst sitting in 2^nd place in both the Forgotten Era and F400, with the final round at Anglesey in the middle of October.

Congratulations to # 65 Sol Acoustics who have won the 2 VIP Passes to the next round of the British Superbike Championships at Brands Hatch on 7th August!

The winning ticket was drawn out at Oulton Park today, by James Haydon, former motorcycle racer and British Eurosport Commentator.

Another podium and an excellent result in the 5^th round of the Junior Superstock 600 Race at the new Snetterton 300.

In Qualifying 2, we saw Connor improve on his first session and he missed out on Pole by 0.359 second, which was set by series leader Keith Farmer.

Come raceday, Connor got off to a great start, and was in a duel with race leader Keith Farmer and 2^nd place Glenn Irwin and they started to make a break from the rest of the group almost immediately. On the 5^th lap Farmer tipped off at Montreal, and Connor moved up in to 2^nd place to engage in a fast moving duel with Irwin. Soon after, the race was red flagged as Tony Coombs fell at Williams, and the action was stopped.

Irwin had pole for the re-start, schedule to run over five laps, Connor again, got a great start and the two made a break, Connor leading on lap 1, he was taken by Irwin who was holding the advantage after three laps when the red flags came out again. With two thirds distance completed the race was declared over, giving Irwin his first win of the season, and Connor his best result so far. Farmer, somehow managed to make the re-start and pick up 7^th place and 9 valuable points.

Connor now lies 2^nd in the Championship, at the halfway point, 38 points behind leader Keith Farmer. Disappointed with the 2 red flags, Connor is looking forward to the 7^th round at his local circuit of Oulton Park and hoping for his first win in front of the home crowd!

For the 5^th round of the British Superbike Championships, it  was up north to the Scottish Circuit of Knockhill. The  weather, as always, played a huge part in the weekends  racing, with two days of rain, throughout practise and  qualifying. Fallen riders looking like they have been in a mud  fight, and bikes the same! First practice came, but  mechanical problems prevented  Connor from getting out.  Luckily for him, and unluckily for  some, the session was  Red Flagged twice, which helped  Connor to get out for the  last 10 minutes of the 30 minute session. Finishing 10^th fastest, wasn’t too bad considering the short time he had on track.

Qualifying 1, later in the afternoon, the weather was still wet. Connor set some good laps, but kept entering the pits as he was having problems with his visor steaming up. Managing to do a quick lap in the later stages, gave him a 3^rd fastest time in the session.

Qualifying 2, the following day, was again raining. Connor managed to better his time early on, and was on a flying lap when he high sided at Seat Curves. Thankfully he was not hurt, although the same could not be said about the bike.

As other riders bettered their times, Connor could only watch as his grid position drop down the rankings, eventually putting him in 10^th place, on row 3 of the grid.

When the bike was returned to the pits, the extent of the damage could not be seen through the mud, but it was clear that it would be a struggle to get the bike repaired before the race on Sunday.

It was all systems go, and working until 2am after trying to beg steal and borrow the various parts for the bike, it looked like the race was on.

Come race day, Connor was propelled one place on the grid due to the withdrawal of James East and moved up to 9^th on the grid. The actual race was dry, with no one having any dry-set up, apart from the short warm-up session in the morning.

Connor got off to a poor start and fell to 13^th within the first lap. On the second lap the steering damper snapped, which made the handling difficult. He rode with the problem, and slowly climbed back to take 8^th place and 8 championship points. This sees him 3^rd in the Championship after 5 rounds.

All things considered it was a good result under the circumstances, and hopefully at the next round at Snetterton, Connor will have a bit more luck and get another Podium.

We would like to thank Gearlink and Bournemouth Kawasaki, Steve Bennett & Mackrory Demolition and everyone else who helped us out in getting the bike ready for Raceday after Connors off.

Thanks also to all our sponsors, CNG & Brabus Enterprises, Maxton Engineering, Kawasaki Team Green, Bristol Kawasaki, Dynopro-Racing, Semtex, BC Motorcycle Training, Vitalsigns of Northwich, Knox and of course all the #72 Club Members and Glynne Lewis Photography.

]]> http://connorbehan.co.uk/knockhill-round-5-junior-superstock-600/feed/ http://connorbehan.co.uk/72-club-ticket-winner-snetterton/ http://connorbehan.co.uk/72-club-ticket-winner-snetterton/#comments Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:28:01 +0000 admin http://connorbehan.co.uk/?p=376

The winner of the 2 VIP Tickets to the next round at Snetterton on the 2nd & 3rd July is number 50 McGregor Doull. Congratulations!

The winning number was drawn out by SP125 Team Manager and former 125cc and 250cc British Champion Steve Patrickson.

With Thruxton circuit circulating an Airfield, it is the norm to expect a windy weekend and it did not disappoint!

First practise on Friday morning, Connor produced a fastest time of 1:21.746 just 0.290 seconds slower than pace setter Tim Hastings.

1^st Qualifying later on in the day, a blustery performance, Connor set a time of 1:20718, 0.425 seconds behind the fastest rider, again Tim Hastings. The times were over 5mph down on last year, purely because of the wind at the circuit.

With the wind not as strong as in the first qualifying, In 2^nd Qualifying, Connor improved on the previous days times and did a 1:19.983, 0.328 behind Pole setter James East. This gave Connor his 3^rd front row start so far this season.

Come race day, the weather again played havoc, causing the first BSB race to be delayed due to rain and subsequently all the following races ran late and had to be shortened.

The Superstock 600, last race of the day was cut to 12 laps, and was a very wet race.

Luckily Connor got off to a flying start, leading for the first few corners, then Keith Farmer, from 3^rd row on the grid flew past and set a gap immediately, leaving Connor to battle it out with fellow riders James East, Johnny Blackshaw and Josh Wainwright. The battle for the podium soon began and it was a hard fought race with Connor, East and Wainwright constantly changing positions throughout the race. On the penultimate lap, Connor was lying in 2^nd place and seemed to make a gap between himself and Wainwright, but on the final lap and final corner, Connor was taken and had to settle for 3^rd spot. Throughout the race his handlebar grip kept coming loose and he had to keep twisting it back on, then on the last corner it fell off!

Although disappointed with not getting 2^nd, it was a fantastic race and a good result which puts him in 3^rd place in the Championship after 4 rounds.

Thanks go out to all our sponsors, Team Green/Bristol Kawasaki, Maxton Suspension, VitalSigns of Northwich, Dynopro-racing, Semtex Ltd, BC Motorcycle Training, Glynne Lewis Photography, Knox and not forgetting all the #72 Club members.

Congratulations, to Richard Smith - ProCars, who wins the 2 VIP Tickets to the next round of the BSB Series at Knockhill in Scotland on the 17th/19th June.

The winning ticket was drawn out at this weekends meeting at Thruxton by TV and BSB Commentator Mr Jamie Whitham.