Team Wulfsport

Following weeks of speculation, rumour and counter – rumour, we are pleased to announce the formation of Team Wulfsport for the 2006 Motocross season. This Team name will replace the hugely popular Team Lizard and is due to the substantial increase in sponsorship from Bill Brown and his company Wulfsport who has come in this year as the title sponsor of the Team.

Bill has been involved in Motocross for many years – both in business and as a competitor. He regularly competes in twin-shock races throughout the UK on his trusty Maico and this year also raced – and finished! – in a famous long-distance enduro in Finland.

In 2006 Team Wulfsport will consist of the following riders:-

MX1 – World and British Championships – GORDON CROCKARD
MX2 – World and British Championships – SHAUN SIMPSON
MX2 – World and British Championships – SCOTT PROBERT
MX2 – British, Irish and Ulster Champs – ADAM McKEE
MX2 – Irish and Ulster Championships – GARY MAGEE

All riders will be provided with CRF450 or CRF250 Honda machines thanks to Honda UK namely Mark Davies and Roger Harvey.

Team Wulfsport intends to make a significant impact in the MX1 and MX2 Championships in 2006 with such a strong Team. However, the Team is not just made up of the 5 riders. For a serious attempt at World level you also need the experienced and competent support members. To this end Team Wulfsport have enlisted the expertise of a number of quality and highly experienced mechanics: -

MX1 for GC – Ian Bishop – currently mechanic for WRC Subaru and Peter Solberg. Ian also regularly rides his own motocross bike to stay fit !

MX2 for SS – Willie Simpson – a regular competitor himself in World and British Championships from the 1970s to the 1990s. Willie has been Shaun’s mechanic since he started to compete and is assisted by Shaun’s younger brother Stefan at most events.

MX2 for SP – Steve Henderson – again a vastly experienced mechanic, having worked for a number of riders including the American Mike Brown and the UK’s Jamie Dobb.

Following the very successful Irish Motocross Grand Prix held in September 2005 – Promoted by Schism and the Northern Ireland Events Company – negotiations have taken place with Team Wulfsport to form a ‘partnership’ so that the 2006 and 2007 Irish Motocross Grand Prix and the 2007 Motocross of Nations will be promoted at World level at ALL GPs.

Superbiker Mettet

Ireland’s Gordon Crockard played his part in the annual 'Superbiker' race in Mettet, Belgium.

The legendary Superbiker is one of the world's most important non-championship supermoto races. A 25.000 strong crowd witnessed the clash of styles with stars invited from supermoto, motocross and racing categories. Crockard had participated in the Irish Supermoto GP earlier this year and finished respectively 33rd in the first final and 35th in the second. Yamaha mounted colleague Jeremy McWilliams finished a disappointing 38th and 43rd.



MX legend Stefan Everts, fresh from a dominant supermoto win in the Belgian championship last weekend, showed probably his best speed ever at Mettet. Unfortunately Everts had bad starting positions in both finals and finished ninth overall. However the Belgian was the best placed motocross rider. The young German supermoto star Bernd Hiemer won the event ahead of S2 world champ Jerome Giraudo.

Sunny weather and dry conditions provided excellent conditions for both the seasoned supermoto stars and the occasional riders. French Supersport star Stephane Chambon won the Starbiker, the qualifying race between road racing and motocross stars. MX1 runner-up Josh Coppins finished fifth behind Superbike world champion Troy Corser. Both Superbiker finals saw many interesting battles within the race, where the supermoto regulars were leading the pack and a mixed bag of riders was trying has hard as they could.

Gordon Crockard (Yamaha UK Racing Team)
"It’s not easy to hang with the supermoto guys who do this every weekend and who have their bikes properly set up for the job. However I had a good time this weekend, and I definitely enjoy supermoto in general. The atmosphere in Mettet is just amazing and there are always a lot of Irish amateur riders who come and race here as well"

Stefan Everts (Yamaha L&M Motocross Team)
"I really enjoyed the racing this weekend and I was pretty dialed in here. I had to start from the 10th line in the finals after we encountered a small problem during the Starbiker race, but in each final race I easily worked my way up. My bad starting position was a bit frustrating, because with a normal result during the qualifying race I would have been on the front row. Anyway I think I have proved to be the best allround rider here, because all the guys in front of me are fulltime supermoto riders."
Article supplied by yamaha-racing.com

TORTELLI HEADLINES IN BELFAST

Former double World Champion Sebastien Tortelli (France) headlines a star-filled list of World Class riders at the International Supercross at Belfast’s Odyssey Arena on November 25th & 26th.

Tortelli’s career highlights include becoming the youngest ever 125cc World MX Champion at the tender age of 16, two years later he destroyed the 250cc competition by taking his second World Championship ahead of current Champ’ Stefan Everts.
The French flyer then took on the biggest challenge of his career – moving to the USA to race against all time legends Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael. He took no time at all to adapt to the incredibly challenging Supercross Stadium circuit winning his first ever US Supercross at the LA Coliseum in 1998. Since then he’s been constantly at the front of the US Motocross and Supercross scene.

In 2006 Tortelli has made the decision to come home and race the MX1 World Championship aboard a Factory Red Bull KTM – he’s going to be Stefan Evert’s biggest threat in years!
"We have to remember that Sebastien has won at every level in the World – Motocross and Supercross both in Europe and more recently in America" explained event organiser Matt Bates. "We’ve worked incredibly hard to secure some of the best riders in the World, and I firmly believe Belfast plays host to one of the best Supercross events in Europe. "Sebastien is truly one of today’s heroes from our sport, and I can’t think of a better welcome back to the UK than racing at the Odyssey in November".

Tortelli will be racing aboard a Factory KTM in the SX2 class against last years winner Mike Brown (USA) and current World Championship race winners Carl Nunn (UK) and Billy Mackenzie (SCO).

With Freestyle Motocross bringing the first ever live Back-Flip seen in Ireland and Mini Bike GP action starring Jeremy McWilliams, Ryan Farquhar, Leon Haslam, Michael Laverty, Adrian Archibald and Jonathan Rea….

The Odyssey is set to Rock on November 25th & 26th!
Tickets can be purchased via usual outlets:
Box Office: 028 9073 9074
www.belfastsupercross.com