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This is just a wee blog before heading away for my first round at Brands Hatch this weekend. I have spent the last few weeks helping with jobs like cutting firewood and enjoying the good weather at home and preparing for the challenge ahead.

I enjoyed the two BSB tests with my new Carbontek Four Anjels team over a week ago and it was great to meet up with my team mate Dave Johnson. It was obviously a big learning exercise for me and I found that at Brands Hatch you need to be very confident and be comfortable with the track before going fast. By the end of the day I started to enjoy myself and we were lapping at a good pace. The test was very worthwhile and we were able to come away knowing what we have to work on when we go back this week.
Snetterton was more enjoyable for me because it reminded me of some of the European tracks I have raced over the past three years. We had a number of issues with the rear shock before the lunch break but we found ways to help dial the problems out and it seemed much better in the afternoon. We still have quite a few things to try in terms with geometry & chassis set-up but I was extremely happy of what we had achieved at Snetterton.
I found both tests very worthwhile and a great learning experience having the opportunity to follow and study what the experienced BSB riders were doing on track. Dave is a top rider and it was super to get some laps with him at Snetterton.

I’d like to thank the whole Carbontek Four Anjels BMW team for the hard work and effort they have been putting in so far.
I’m happy with my physical condition after the two days on track as my winter training programme seems to have worked well with the challenge of the bigger more powerful machine.
I have to be realistic with my goals for the first round as there are so many good riders that have a lot of experience in BSB. I know if we can find a good set-up to allow me to push hard, I won’t be far away. I’m very thankful to the team, sponsors and family for their fantastic support. I’m looking forward to seeing some of the Young Riders Fund members that support me at Brands and am delighted that my main personal sponsor last year, Keys Group are supporting me again in 2012 so thanks to Don and Jamie for that. Very much appreciated!

Josh

Seventeen year old Josh Elliott got his preseason testing off to a good start at Almeria in Spain last weekend. After just signing with the Carbontek Four Anjels team, it was fortunate that Racedays Promotions squeezed him into their three day track event at Almeria circuit in southern Spain. The team managed to get a BMW S1000RR Superstock bike prepared and loaded onto the lorry heading down just in time and a few days later young Elliott flew down to get familiarized with his new mount.

Josh soon got to grips with his new machine and made steady progress trying out different settings over the three days to help dial in his machine for the demands of the track.

Despite finishing a few hours early on the last day with a minor issue with the rear suspension, he still managed to record the second fastest lap time of the test and had these words to say:- “I’m very pleased with our three day test at Almeria. It was brilliant to be back out on a race bike again after a long unexciting winter.

The Carbontek Four Anjels BMW lived up to my expectations and I was surprised by how comfortable I felt on the bike after a number of sessions. The sheer speed of it alone had me smiling down the 1km back straight and having the power to leave lengthy black lines of rubber down coming out of corners was somewhat enjoyable as well! After quickly getting used to the power and learning the characteristics of the BMW, I set myself targets throughout the last two days on track. Of course as I was getting faster and faster we encountered some difficulties in terms of chassis and suspension set-up. One of the main issues I was having on track was trying to get the bike to finish the corner and getting the power down. We worked hard and improved it certain areas but I feel we have still got some work to do before the first round at Brands Hatch.

There is certainly much more to come from me and the bike as a package. Over all I’m delighted with my first test on the Carbontek Four Anjels BMW and I’m eager to get back on it again for the BSB Official test at Brands Hatch later this month. I look forward to meeting up with my team mate Dave Johnson and working together for the team. Obviously I would I like thank the Carbontek Four Anjels team for preparing the bike under very short notice, Racedays for getting me some essential track time and everyone at the event who were so friendly and helped me with adjusting to the new machine. “

Northern Ireland teenager Josh Elliott will make his debut in the National Superstock Championship on Easter Monday after recently putting ‘pen to paper’ with Surrey based Carbontek Four Angels Racing. He will race alongside Australian David Johnson in the British Superbike support class with both men campaigning BMW S1000RR machinery.

For such a young man the 17-year-old has already accumulated a wealth of experience in racing: after tangible success in Ireland on Mini Motos and two-stroke bikes, he progressed to the German IDM Supersport series, aged just fourteen, and more recently on the World Superbike stage in the European Superstock Championship.

2012 will be the Ballinamallard student’s first opportunity to race in the high profile BSB series and alongside Aussie ‘Davo’ Johnson on BMW powered Carbontek Four Anjels machinery, and he can’t wait to get started.

Josh Elliott:
“I had heard a lot of good things about the Carbontek Four Anjels team from some close racing associates in England and was delighted to finally get to meet them. Their expectations and goals are very realistic and in line with my own, so I am delighted to get the opportunity to ride for such a good team.

“I am grateful that despite time being short, Carbontek Four Anjels have pulled out the stops to get a BMW S1000RR ready for a test in Spain. Thanks also to my good friends Gerry and Susie Bryce for squeezing me into their Racedays event at Almeria this week. It has been an especially long winter for me and I just can’t wait to get to ride the Carbontek Four Angels BMW and learn all about it. I want to make the best of the testing time to properly change my style to suit the ‘thousand’ and make small steps toward becoming competitive in a very tough class.”

Team Manager Simon Frendo added: “We were looking to run two BMW S1000RR bikes in the Superstock championship this year with Dave Johnson and another good rider. We got to meet Josh and his portfolio spoke volumes. By the end of the meeting we decided to take Josh on and give him a good chance of progressing his career on a competitive machine. There hasn’t been much time to prepare a bike but we have pulled out the stops to get one ready so Josh can test at the start of March in Spain.

“I think Josh and Davo will be a good combination for us this year and we hope to be right up at the front. We have a great main sponsor who has backed us for a second year, so thank you Steve and the great team we have behind the scenes.

Team sponsor Steve Greenhalgh concluded: “To be able to offer a young, talented rider like Josh the opportunity to step up to Superstock, is for me personally, what it’s all about. Josh joins us with a wealth of experience at only 17, but will have a steep learning curve on a bigger bike and some of the UK circuits that he is not familiar with. I have every confidence in Josh to make that transition and he will be fully supported by all the team including the seasoned Dave Johnson.

Fermanagh teenager Josh Elliott competed in his last European Superstock 600 race of the year at Portugal on the weekend 14 to 16 October. The Parkalgar circuit situated in the Algarve was bathed in sunshine all weekend in temperatures well over 30 degrees on occasions, but it was a tough weekend in the Weightmaster Trailers Yamaha camp.

After a promising start of 12th in first practice things took a step back in first qualifying. The rear tyre spun on the rim and turned out to be slightly out-of-round causing vibration, so after a short run Elliott’s team opted to sit out the rest of the session saving a tyre for 2nd qualifying. The next day despite a move in the right direction, the team were not able to get a setting that gave Josh the confidence that he needed to get a really fast lap.

A thorough debrief with Josh and his Crew Chief, Andy Jamison, raised a few concerns regarding gearing, and pointed clearly to a direction to follow for the chassis setup and from here he takes up the story, “Race day saw sunny conditions again, with a slight breeze tempering the heat. Josh had a blinder of a start…so much of a blinder that it was deemed a jump-start! At the end of lap one Josh had come through from 26th to 12th, and was not only able to run the pace of the group, but felt he was able to run considerably faster in the corners than his fellow riders. Despite improving on his qualification times by nearly half a second, and maintaining his qualification pace till lap 5, it was soon obvious that there was a grave issue with the Yamaha’s engine, with the little bike posting the slowest outright top speed of all in the race. Although Josh soldiered on till the end of lap 8 he was ultimately forced to retire, with no chance of salvaging any points.

Once again Lady Luck has left young Josh in the lurch, but the team feel that a bit of a breakthrough was made with the settings this weekend and that the hard work and never-say-die approach have paid off…it is a great pity though, for Josh, his family and all his generous supporters that the results do not reflect this.

A change in rules for next season’s European Stock 600 Championship that will improve the lot of riders unable to test at Championship circuits, see’s Josh eager to return next season and reward the faith shown in him by so many! I wish him well in looking forward to 2012!”

Josh commented before leaving for the journey home, “I wish I could have had a good result to say a better thank you to everyone who has helped me this year. After all the problems we had in qualifying it would have been easy just to give up, but Andy Jamison put in an unbelievable effort to get my bike right for the race. I knew I had moved a bit at the start as I engaged the clutch and was getting a 20 second penalty no matter, so I just went for it! It was great to make some good moves through the first lap and make up quite a few places as the bike felt very good. Unfortunately the engine started to slow and I was getting passed with ease on the straights. When it started cutting out it got dangerous so I had to retire. I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported me this year in any way and hope I can keep everybody on board for next year to repay them properly.”

Josh’s team are traveling directly home and were planning to use his Superstock 600 machine in the Sunflower trophy races at Bishopscourt, Co Down next weekend. Unfortunately, with the damaged engine the bike will not be repaired in time however there may be still the possibility Josh can race if he can secure another bike for the popular end of season event.

Josh Elliott was back in action at the French round of the European Superstock 600 championship at Magny Cours. Having missed the last round in Italy due to a shortfall in budget, the Ballinamallard seventeen year old was hoping to repeat last year’s performance when he secured a season best 4th place finish. First practice went fairly well with a 12th position out of 36 rider grid filled with local wild card riders, but things were to take a turn for the worst in first qualifying.

With some minor changes to try out, Elliott immediately improved his time but crashed after just three laps. He was uninjured and was able to ride his bike back to the pits where his team made minor repairs and he rejoined the qualifying. Unable to improve, he finished the session in 22nd place and for the following day’s final qualifying so his team made some changes to try and get a better feeling. Although the young rider improved a little in time his weekend went from bad to worse as he slipped further to 25th place on the starting grid.

He sat down with his team to try and work out a solution to regain his confidence in the way the bike was working. They gambled on a different gearing and suspension/ geometry set up for the race. The race start was a bit manic so far back on the grid and the usual barging went on in the first lap. Elliott made up quite a few places in the first few corners but a another rider fell at the hairpin and stood up in the middle of the track forcing him to virtually stop to take evasive action, loosing many places. He managed to make some back but on lap two a wildcard rider missed a gear and Elliott was unable to avoid colliding with him. He just managed to stay on his bike, but again this lost him time. Eventually he settled into the race and started to run top ten times despite being so far back. Quite a few riders crashed out and Elliott made some places but despite a late race push just missed out on the points with a 16th place finish. After the race the frustrated sports studies student had this to say about his weekend action, “It was an extremely hard weekend but despite our troubles we were unfortunate not to come away with any points. We made changes to the bike before the race which improved it in certain areas and after a hectic first few laps I was able to maintain good lap times throughout the race. I have two weeks now until the last round at Portimao, where I will be giving it my best shot.”

His technician, Andy Jamison sums up the weekend candidly,” Magny Cours is new circuit for me, but with some very good data to hand, Josh had a pretty good run-out in free practice, and we were all confident that the changes for first qualifying would see us inside the top ten. Unfortunately after a few very promising fast laps, Josh had a small off going round turn 16. We got Josh back out again, but couldn’t seem to find the pace again. I opted to stay with this set-up given how promising we started out but Josh could find no confidence with it leaving me again with a dilemma for race setup. Josh, Jules and I discussed options, and I set the bike up to try and give Josh confidence in the front. I owe a bit of a debt of gratitude to Simon Crafar who popped into the awning to point out a few things he’d noticed with Josh on the bike on circuit, and his advice definitely helped us in the race.
Josh seems doomed to have his race starts frustrated by numpties trying very hard to crash directly in front of him! After a coming together with one of these numpties, Josh had, what I consider to be, a really mature ride, fighting his way up to 16th, but very impressively running times the whole race that would have kept him comfortably within the top ten.
Once again a solid ride from a young man whose maturity on the bike belies his young age…well done!”

The famous Nurburgring circuit in Germany was the venue for round seven of the European Superstock 600 Championship at the weekend, as Northern Ireland’s Josh Elliott sought to build on his confidence building performance on home soil a few weeks ago.

Unexpected rain fell on the first morning which meant first free practice was a careful affair with the seventeen year old taking it steady for 9th fastest.

First qualifying was an opportunity to properly test the recent winning set up found at Mondello Park, but the demands of the German track left him needing more set up and he ended up 12th but only 1.3 seconds off pole. A different direction was tried for final qualifying but despite improving by a second on the new tyres, the Fermanagh lad struggled with the changes and dropped two places to end up 14th on the grid for the race.


The team was forced to change the suspension geometry again for the race to try and get a more competitive set up and try to get Elliott a race finish that improved on his qualifying.

He got off the line reasonably well and picked up two places on the first lap. As the race settled in it was obvious that the set up was much improved as he started to close on those in front of a large group, gradually making up places and eventually emerging the leader of the group in 8th place. At this mid point in the race, those in front had made about a four second break, so Elliott just kept his head down and despite exchanging positions with Australian, Adrian Nestorovic he managed to make a small break late in the race and held on for a well deserved and season best of 8th place.

Afterwards he had these words “

I am delighted to have got a good result from a tough weekend. We had some problems during qualifying and I ended up 14th on the grid. I knew instantly the suspension changes we had made for the race were in the right direction, I felt good on the bike and I was able to gain six places during the race to leave me in 8th. I would like to thank my Crew Chief Andy Jamison for working hard and being able to solve the problem for the race, also to Mark and Tom Leonard of MTL Marine from Carrybridge who helped me towards this event and everyone else who supports me.”

Andy Jamison also commented on his young rider’s weekend performance, “What a solid result for Josh after a fairly tricky weekend! Josh is a rider who really impresses with his determined attitude and his refusal to let problems get him down. I was gutted after getting it wrong for Q2, though a change at the very end pointed us in a good direction. The race was going to be a bit of a gamble set-up wise, but after a few changes Josh rode it hard off the line. It was soon clear that Josh could “race” his set-up and came through the field to his best result of the season. The smile on his face in Parc Ferme made the weekend for me! Well done Josh…good job!”

It is understood that as things stand the team will have to miss the next round at Imola in Italy due to lack of budget, but are making a big effort to be at the last two rounds in Magny Cours in France and Portimao in Portugal in October.

On a somber finishing note, Josh, and all involved with his team would like to send their sincere condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in a very black week for racing.

Fermanagh’s Josh Elliott returned to motorcycle racing action at home for the first time in two years last weekend as he competed in the ‘Adelaide Masters Series’ championship at Mondello park in Co Kildare.
With no European Superstock 600 rounds in August and being unable to get to Nurburgring to test, it was a great opportunity for the 17 year old to get some track time on home soil and he gladly accepted the invitation to race at Mondello in the Supersport 600 class.
Having had trouble with set up problems most of the year, Elliott’s small team decided to try different suspension in an attempt to make progress.
A rain interrupted test day on Friday held back the development, but as practice and racing started on Saturday, they were slowly making the right steps with young Elliott posting the 2nd fastest qualifying time to Australia’s Cameron Donald.

Elliott led from the off in race one for four laps before the Wilson Craig Supersport Honda of Donald took the lead. As Donald started to make a break his engine expired and the Fermanagh lad rode a mature race to take the win from Englishman Christian Elkin and another local rising star Keith Farmer from Clogher, who had come through from a poor start.
His first victory in quite some time was a major confidence boost, but things were to get tougher the next day, as British Superstock 600 championship leader Farmer was to turn up the pressure on his D&GW racing Honda.
From the off, Farmer set a scorching pace and was trailed the entire race by Elliott aboard his Weightmaster trailers Yamaha. They were literally touching many times as Elliott tried to get a way past, but Farmer held station. On the last corner of the last lap Elliott made his move and passed Farmer on the brakes, but the ‘Clogher Bullet’ got the power down better on exit and just beat Elliott to the finish line.

This set things up nicely for the final 600 race. This time it was the Fermanagh man who took the lead early in lap one and again the battle between him and Farmer raged the whole race. Midrace Elliott managed to make a small break as he dropped the lap time to 54.4 seconds, a best for a Superstock 600 machine, but then the rain drops started falling. A nervous few laps followed as both riders tried to find the safe pace in the changing conditions, but this time Elliott managed to hold on for his second win of the weekend.

The performance of the two local lads earned them a second row start in the feature race of the day, the ‘Adelaide Masters’ which was made up primarily of superbikes.

Again the two lads battled for 3rd as superbike riders Cameron Donald and Dubliner Jack Kennedy ran up front. The race was stopped due to an incident and reran as a four lap dash. They resumed their battle swapping places a few times before the red flag came out a lap early again with Kennedy winning from Donald, young Farmer taking third and Elliott fourth.

Keith Farmer had this to say after the day’s racing, “I really enjoyed the day’s racing and it’s great to see two local lads having real tight but good clean racing like that. I just want to thank all my family, friends and sponsors for the great support; including Enniskillen based ‘Auto Tecs’.
Josh commented, “To come away from Mondello with two wins and a second in the Supersport class and a 4th in the Adelaide Masters race is fantastic for me, especially with the year I have had to date. We got the new K-Tech shock working very well and the WMT Yamaha was performing the best it has all season. I really enjoyed the close racing with Keith as we both have a lot of respect for each other off and on the track.”

Silverstone European Superstock 600 was a real rollercoaster for local boy Josh Elliott at his ‘home’ round last weekend. With a repaired motor and new crew chief to set up his bike, he shocked the paddock by dominating day one, posting a provisional pole time a half a second faster than the rest of the field!
Elliott was very nearly not making it there at all with broken engines and a serious budget shortfall, but thanks to those around him rallying to help; his bike was rebuilt and delivered to the circuit the day before racing began.

For this meeting Josh had secured the services of a new crew chief in Andy Jamison of the former British Supersport ’Raceways Yamaha’ team and the new set up approach seemed to work right away. The Fermanagh lad led first free practice and the positive start continued later that day. Despite running out of fuel in first qualifying and having to push his bike back to the pits; he went out and stormed to provisional pole with one flying lap late in the session.

Day two was more difficult in final qualifying as he could not find the grip to further improve on his time, but still ended up 3rd and secured his first front row start on the grid of the season.

The highs turned to lows at the start of the race as Josh had by far his worst start of the year, getting swallowed up in the pack when the lights went out. A rather blatant jump start by Italian Lombardi further unsettled him as he blasted past but the damage was done. Elliott dropped back to 11th and although he settled into a good pace in comparison to the leaders was unable to find anywhere near his qualifying pace. He did make some progress, but slowed in the last three laps, loosing some places and crossing the line in a season’s best 9th place.

The disappointed 17 year old has this to say after the race, “I am obviously really frustrated to have made such a bad start and I’m sorry to my team and all the great support here for that. The weekend started really well and I have to thank Andy Stone and Andy Williams for rebuilding my engines and to Andy Jamison for doing a great job in setting up the bike. The edge grip we were looking for all season was there on Friday and I was able to ride the bike the way I did in testing at Cartagena during the winter. That was why I went provisional pole on Friday as the bike was ‘there for me’. For some reason I lost that feeling for the race and especially in the last three laps or so, couldn’t get the power down and it just wanted to spit me off. We didn’t make any changes which would have caused this so it is a bit puzzling. To be honest, even if I had got away at the start I think the best I could have done in the race is 6th as I just didn’t have the rear grip to stay with the front guys. Still, I have many positives to take away and something to work with now. I may not be able to do all the rounds to the end of the season but I would really like to get to the next one in Nurburgring as I really like the track. Thanks to Paul Branson of Bransons Motorcycles and also to Chris Wilkinson of Weightmaster Trailers who owns the bike for coming along this weekend to support me and all my family, friends and other sponsors who help make it possible.”

Josh Elliott resumed his European Superstock 600 campaign at Brno in the Czech Republic this weekend after recovering from a shoulder injury which blighted the last two back-to back rounds in Italy and Spain last month. The Fermanagh lad hoped to turn around a problematic start to the season at a track he set pole at one year ago, albeit on different machinery. His usual mechanic Andy Williams had been drafted at the last minute into the ‘Step Racing’ Supersport team for the weekend, so Josh was fortunate to secure the services of respected technician and road racer Shaun Anderson from back home. His weekend began reasonably with 10th place in free practice on Friday morning but he was well off last year’s pace so improvement was sought for first qualifying that afternoon. Unfortunately things took a backward step and he dropped to 20th in that session. Radical changes were made overnight to his Weight Master Trailer’s Yamaha to try and find a good chassis balance but a Plan B was decided on if that did not work. After 10 minutes of final qualifying it was apparent that the set up was still not giving young Elliott the feel needed to push, so Plan B was put into action in pit lane. This time the changes worked and he immediately improved by 1.8 seconds on the previous day’s time and despite losing his final lap to slower traffic, Josh moved up to 15th on the grid and only 1.2 seconds off pole position.

Although big strides were achieved, still more improvements were needed for the race to give him a little better lap time to be able to challenge nearer the front, so more tweaks were made after careful consideration by his small team . The race start was delayed due to a warm-up lap accident, but when the lights went out the Fermanagh teenager got off the line well and settled into a pack from 10th to 14th place. He was in 13th for a few laps but dropped back to 14th at the finish seemingly unable to make any progress in his group.

When asked about his race Josh had this to say. “Physically I was fine this weekend as the treatment I got at Cherrymount Clinic in Enniskillen really helped my shoulder injury from Misano. The changes to the suspension for second qualifying and then the race gave me good feeling from the front so I could push harder into the turns, but I lost rear grip and drive off the turns which left it very difficult. I was losing a lot on the hills and noticed after about 3 laps the engine temperature was far too high at 120 degrees, dropping the power. I don’t know if it was being held too long on the line or if something went wrong, but we now have to strip the engine to check it before the next round at Silverstone. It was everything I could do to stay with the group and I’m bitterly disappointed not to get at least a top 10 finish here in Brno as I like this track so much. Picking up just a few points here and there is not what I am in this championship for. I hope to test before the next round and get a proper handle on the setup we have been lacking. I want to thank Shaun Anderson for doing mechanic for me at short notice this weekend as my usual one Andy Williams was drafted into Gino Rea’s Step Racing World Supersport team.”
Thanks Again to Gaeme Brown for the action pics

It has been a tough two weekends in Europe for Northern Ireland’s teenage motorcycle racer Josh Elliott as he competed in the Spanish round of the European Superstock 600 Championships on Saturday evening at the new Motorland Aragon circuit.

Having sustained a shoulder injury in Misano last week it was always going to be difficult, but with a recent test at the venue, young Elliott was hopeful of a respectable performance.

He started well with 9th place in first free practice but it was clear from rear tyre wear that track conditions had changed a lot from his test and first qualifying proved very difficult. He was unable to repeat his lap time from earlier and dropped to 18th, nearly four seconds off the front pace.

Major changes were made to set up over night and it made a big difference to the way the Weightmaster Trailers Yamaha handled the challenging track. The Enniskillen South West College sports studies student improved by 3.4 seconds and moved up to 12th, asking for some more small changes to help his machine hold its line on the exit of corners. Treatment from the medical staff at the ‘Clinica Mobile’ helped him managed his shoulder injury.

Elliott got off the line well in the race and settled into 12th place in the early laps in a small group of riders, improving to 10th midrace. He survived a bump with another rider at the hairpin but lost some time. It was clear that he was struggling as the race progressed and he was unable to hold position dropping to 13th at the finish. After the race an exhausted rider had this to say, “All race I was struggling with my shoulder and I couldn’t seem to finish the corner and get a good exit from the turn. Overall I feel happy that we made improvements on the bike from first free practice to now and to get a few points. My aim before the next round is to recover well enough and find a good set-up earlier and try to break into the top 5. I’d like to thank my mechanic Andy Williams for his hard work all weekend also to have my sponsors Don and Jamie Patterson from the Keys Group who came with a few friends to support me”.

The next round is at Brno in the Czech Republic on 9th July where Elliott set pole last year on a Kawasaki. He will surely be hoping to do something similar on the Yamaha.