The Les Shand Racing Team has made the decision to return to locally controlled independent status. This decision was made due to a variety of factors, one of which was the requests from sponsors to return the team to a locally run team also regaining more control over management of the team and resources.

Due to the excessive budgets required of teams in the Supersport class and the inability to compete financially with the larger teams, the team will compete in the British Superstock Championship this year which concentrates on what is in essence racing on road legal motorcycles. This removes a great deal of the advantage given to larger high budget teams for expensive modifications to equipment as little modification is allowed in this class.

The team have already purchased a 2004 Yamaha R1 which is currently being prepared at the teams workshop for 14th March preview day at Donington.

The first competition race will be at Silverstone on 28th March. The full schedule can be found on the website.

Here we go for another season of thrills and excitement, stay with us it’s going to be an exciting season!

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20/21 March 2004 - The team travelled to Croft this weekend to take part in a North east club meeting. The weekend was used mainly as a test and setup weekend.

Saturday - During qualifying Les quickly got into the groove with the new R1 and despite the horrendous weather conditions he qualified in pole position.

Sunday - Race Day - Les continued to feel good with the bike and won 3 out of 3 races, winning the prestigious Laird of Croft Trophy to cap a brilliant weekend.

The team gathered much needed race setup information in preparation for next weekends British Championship Silverstone race.

Les is very pleased with the power and handling of the bike and considers he has made the right choice of bike for this seasons racing. There should be pictures on the website within the next week or two.

Ian Myers and Bob Henderson of M&S Motorcycles kindly let Les race last years CBR 600 once more at Croft before handing it back, Les qualified on pole and won the race. Les would like to sincerely thank them both for all their support during the 2003 season.

See you at Silverstone - P R Manager.

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Silverstone 2004

The weekend started with practice on Friday, everything went well with Les geting important setup information for qualifying.

Saturday came quickly but weather conditions were not ideal, track temperature was low and this affected the setup of the bike, it was difficult keeping the tyres warm and maintain grip in the bends. At the end of the first qualifying session, Les had managed to get to 8th fastest, but he felt there was more to come and was confident he could improve his position and hopefully move up to the front row in th 2nd qualifying. Little did Les know the weather would prevent this. Rain in the aternoon dictated the final grid positions, the track was too wet to improve on the previous qualifying positions for any of the riders, so Les used the session to obtain valuable setup information for a wet race.

Raced day came and Les was ready, the bike was performing well, but there was to be another twist, Les had the 8th fastest qualifying time, this should have placed him on the 2nd row, however, some "unusual" application of the fastest times along with the slowest groups qualifying times meant despite protests Les was put to 11th on the grid which was onthe 3rd row.

The Race
Les actually lined up at 9th on the grid due to others dropping out. He got a great start and took two places before the first bend but couldn,t maintain this and was 10th after the first lap, on the 2nd he gained another two to move up into 8th maintaining this until the 4th lap gaining all the time on the seventh placed rider, on lap five Les made his move and grabbed 7th place, he then concentrated on the next position and on lap 9 took 6th, he started immediately closing the gap to 5th and took this on lap 15. Unfortunately due to Les having to make his way through the field by the time he got clear track between him and the leaders there was too much time to make up and despite taking some time out of them he couldn't improve on his 5th place.

Some points of encouragement from the race.

Finished 5th from 9th on the grid.
Les put in the 3rd fastest lap of the race
Les put in the fastest sector 1 and 3 times of the race.
Les put in the 2nd fastest sector 2 time of the race.
Had les done his two fastest sector times in the same lap he would have held the fastest lap for the race.

Les is really pleased with the result and feels this has been a very succesful team weekend.

For anyone who wants to pop along les is going to knockhill next weekend to run in the first scottish race and gain valuable race info for future races.

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Les was at Knockhill this weekend for a Scottish Championship race, the main aim of this weekend was to gain valuable setup data in preparation for the British Championship meeting later on in the season.

Qualifying took place this morning on a damp and cold track (nothing new for Knockhill then), Les wasn’t prepared to risk too much as he didn’t want to crash the bike but he still qualified in pole position.

The first race was dry before the start, but just as they were sitting in the holding area a light drizzle came on. Les got a good start and due to the damp track took a cautious approach in the first few laps, he still maintained his lead and once the track started to dry he pulled out a 6 second lead. Once he had this lead he eased off and maintained it to come home in 1st place.

The second race was wet and les lost a position at the start, again with the slippery track conditions Les was careful not to dump the bike and waited till the second lap for his opportunity to pass. Once past Les pulled away and increased the gap to 6 seconds then eased off and maintained position again, the 5th lap saw Knockhill throw another weather condition at the riders…hailstones! Needless to say Les has seen this all before at Knockhill and he maintained his pace to come home in 1st place.

Although Les now leads the Scottish Championship he will not be competing in any more rounds, this weekend was used to gain valuable race data for the bike setup as Knockhill is completely different to the sweeping bends of Silverstone.

Next meeting is Brands Hatch.

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The team are on their way back from Brands Hatch with mixed emotions; whilst les has come away from the track as the Superstock Lap Record Holder he finished the race in 7th position. Les was disappointed with his qualifying performance and felt he did not make the best of the track time.

Saturday Practise was wet and Les was 3rd fastest due to his usual smooth riding in the wet.

Sunday morning qualifying saw Les 3rd fastest in his group and 6th fastest overall, he was reasonably pleased as he thought there would be more speed to come from suspension alterations.

Sunday afternoon qualifying – Les went out on part worn rear tyre and pitted half way through the session for a softer compound for fast lap qualifying, unfortunately the tyre was wasted because in the first 5 laps when the tyre is at it’s best he couldn’t get clear a lap due to slower riders, although faster than morning it wasn’t enough, Les felt he should have gone faster, he ended up 8th quickest at end of qualifying, this put him 9th on the grid (1st on third row) due to the two group qualifying process being used again.

Monday race day – Les got flying start up to 6th place off the line, 2 falling riders on the 1st lap brought the safety car out, so Les was cruising in a queue of bikes for two laps, as the race progressed les was in a train of 6 bikes with only a couple of seconds splitting the top 6, the places were changing all the time. On lap 17 of 26 the 5th placed rider high sided just as Les was making a passing manoeuvre for position on him, this caused Les to take to the grass to avoid running over the crashed rider, he rejoined still in 6th due to rider falling off but had effectively lost a place. Due to this excursion on the grass Les lost touch with the front pack and it was impossible to catch up due to the pace of racing and the laps remaining, the seventh placed rider was right behind Les for the remainder of the race, on the last lap they came on a back marker and were both slowed down, it was then a power race for the line and Les was pipped at the post by one thousandth of a second.

After a hard fought race, Les had put in the fastest lap of the race on lap 16 and is now the Lap Record holder on a Superstock bike at Brands Hatch.

Next race is Snetterton where the long straights make it a fast track.

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Another good result from Snetterton keeps Les in contention for the championship.

In Friday’s practise Les was 6th quickest, Saturday morning qualifying wasn’t going so well with Les 19th fastest until he went out with 3 minutes to go and claimed 6th quickest. Saturday afternoon was more of the same with Les maintaining 6th quickest until very last lap when he slipstreamed another rider on the straight which gave him more speed and improved his lap time into 5th fastest, to give you an idea how close it was there were only 2 tenths of a second splitting the top 5 fastest riders (see how fast you can blink twice).

For the race Les got a good start and went into 3rd on the first corner, but lost a place on second, during the 4th lap whilst passing up inside of another rider they were so close that Les had to go off line to take off some speed and lost 4 seconds on the leading pack, eventually finishing in 5th

Les is currently 5th in the championship only 6 points behind 4th place and 27 points from 1st place, which may sound a long way but there are 25 points for a win and ten rounds to go so anything could happen.

Good points from the meeting

Finished within his goal of finishing in top 5, got the fastest first sector time 2 tenths of a second off winning time and there was literally nothing in it.

See you at Oulton Park

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Best Ever Result: Les Just 1 Place From Podium!

A bank holiday weekend of frantic action saw Les finish 4th in the British Championship Superstock race, just 5 seconds behind the winner and reigning Champion, Andy Tinsley.

Saturday’s free practice was held in hot and sunny conditions, with Les trying a different combination of front and rear tyres and suspension settings, to try and find a set up with which to qualify and race well, making the most of the Pirelli tyres. The bike was running well, second fastest through both speed traps, and Les finished 5th, just a few 10ths of a second behind winner of the last round Danny Beaumont.

Both qualifying sessions were held on Sunday afternoon. In the first, Les stayed out for the whole session on a soft rear tyre to see whether it would last the distance in the hot conditions, which it did, and he finished the session 4th, just 0.6s off pole, the first time he has had a front row position, albeit provisional. A small problem with the lap timing transponder was quickly found and the chief mechanic Dave Booth made some small changes for the second session at 5.45pm. That went well, with Les improving his time going to 2nd fastest with only 6 minutes remaining, however, traffic prevented a further clear lap, while other leading riders squeezed in quicker times. As the chequered flag went out Les was still 4th on the front row, but Snetterton pole-sitter Tristan Palmer snatched 4th with his very last lap, demoting les to 5th and a second row start, despite his time being a full half second below the lap record set just 8 months ago.

Race day dawned wet and overcast and the morning warm up was spent trying a wet front/intermediate rear tyre combination, but this was felt not to be as good as either full wets or soft dry tyres. In any case the weather was improving and sunny spells made tyre choice easier as the track became fully dry. After the usual tension on the grid, Les made a great start passing Dave Johnston to go 4th, but after exchanging places a couple of times, Les ran 5th for the first half of the race becoming involved in a battle with Danny Beaumont (Yamaha), Steve Allan (Kawasaki) and former Superbike rider Howie Mainwaring (Yamaha). Gradually Les broke clear and hunted down the leading pack, setting his own fastest lap on lap 11 of the 15 as he caught Danny Beaumont. A decisive passing manoeuvre on the 130mph approach to Cascades on the penultimate lap allowed Les to break clear and bag his best ever result in a British Championship race.

In summary: a great weekend, with thanks to Dave Booth and Roger Bennett for improving the bike set up, as the team look forward to the next event, Les' debut at the fearsomely fast North West 200 circuit in Northern Ireland.

The Les Shand Racing Team

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A VISIT TO IRELAND BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN LES (SHAKEY) SHAND PROVING HE CAN MIX IT WITH THE BEST

Go to www.realroadracing.com for some more info and to see Les with his hot pit babe.

This week has been one of Les's most successful race meetings, Les visited the very challenging North West 200, and after only completing 6 laps qualified in 4th!

To summarise the events, he attained a 4th position finish in the Production class, 12th in the first Superbike race (riding a production bike) and a fantastic 9th in the second Superbike race beating well known road racer Richard Britton on the Team Rizla Suzuki.

The North West 200 is a 9 mile road race through the streets and roads between Colraine - Port Stewart and Port Rush, in Ireland. It is thought to be the fastest road circuit in the world with this year’s fastest rider Michael Rutter on the H M Plant factory Honda clocking 201.8 mph through the speed trap.

Race format - Tuesday night 6pm - 9pm roads close for qualifying practice. Thursday night 6pm - 9pm roads close for qualifying practice. Saturday roads close 10.30am - 6.30pm Race Day.

Tuesday Night - Les only got six laps practise due to accidents but instantly Les was at one with the bike and track, coming back in to the team transporter with a huge grin commenting "it was a buzz like no other", results sheets confirmed his enthusiasm showing a 4th place qualifying in the Production Class ahead of many other top riders and a top speed through the speed trap of 184mph!!!!!!!!!

Thursday Night - Raining initially and it was Superbike practice first, still managing to get 182mph in the rain crossing white chevron lines (scary) saw Les qualify in 11th position averaging 103.4mph for the Superbike Class. Again beating some top class rider’s, next was the Production Class, with a drying line Les went out on dry tyres, but a warning light on the dash knocked his concentration and due to his fast time on Tuesday night in the dry, he decided not to risk all but still finished 11th.

Saturday - RACE DAY

Brilliant sun shine, First Race Superbike Race

Les was sat on the grid feeling a little anxious, he was on an almost standard road bike, when he looked to the front, there was Michael Rutter on a factory Honda, when he looked behind there was Richard Britton on a factory Suzuki and all around him were other top riders. But despite being anxious Les was in his position on the grid through merit. With a great start he held a good 9th position, but eventually the more powerful superbikes started passing on the long straights, a few close brushes with kerbs and braking from 180mph to 60mph in the centre of town, in the end he finished an excellent 12th position.

Second Race - Production

Starting from 4th place on the grid and with some excellent "off the line" advise from North West Pro Jim Moodie, he was second into the first corner. The slip streaming effect at such high speeds is phenomenal, so much so that you can be first at the start of the straight and 4th at the end. Mid race Les was in 4th position, but fought back hard, at one point braking so late for a chicane, he misjudged the braking point and went through a hedge, however, landing back on track in disbelief he got back on the power and finished a very close 4th " a brilliant race" he said with a grin a mile wide.

Race 3 - Superbike Race

Excellent start this time from 11th on the grid to 7th at the first corner. Pirelli tyres supplied a slick tyre for this race as it was 6 laps instead of the 5 lap races where Les's treaded tyres struggled with the intense heat and the tyres were starting to disintegrate. The new tyre worked very well and Les had some very close shaves and a long battle with the Rizla Suzuki which gave some excellent TV coverage and commentary, he finished 9th in the race.

His excellent performance through the week fantastic results on Saturday gave Les the Title of " Best Newcomer 2004" and a nice cheque to help with the rest of the seasons expenses!!

Les would like thank the organisers of the meeting for their overwhelming hospitality, Jim Moodie, Ian Duffus and John McGuiness for their technical race advice and Dave, Meg and Craig for the very hard work in the pits.

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Hard Earned 8 Points for Les at Thruxton

After a long tough weekend, Les finished 8th in the latest round of the British Superstock Championship, adding 8 points to his tally, and consolidating his 5th place in the Championship after 5 rounds, with 8 remianing.

Friday: After the tortuous 11.5 hour journey to Thruxton near Andover on the south coast, the team (Les, regular spannerman Dave and his wife Meg) grabbed 3 hours sleep before getting in to the circuit and setting up. The Friday practice at 4pm was spent adjusting back to frantic short circuit pace after the successful trip to the North West 200 road races last month. Les gathered info to try and improve the set up and improve tyre life on the mega abrasive surface. A lap time of 1m22.3 put him 12th fastest.

Saturday 1st Qualifying: It was hoped that changing to a 190 section tyre would improve grip, which proved a good move, and Les slashed his time by almost 3 seconds to a 1m19.6, putting him 13th as everyone improved, but only 1.03 seconds off pole sitter Andy Tinsley.

2nd Qualifying: Everyone was struggling with a lack of grip, which was attributed to a recent truck race coating the circuit with rubber. Former Grand Prix rider and multiple British Superbike Champion Niall Mackenzie offered some advice and encouragement before the final qualifying session, but despite using two new rear tyres and improving his time to a 1m19.2, Les would start the race from 11th on the grid, 0.9s off new polesitter Danny Beaumont. To put this in context, the average speed over a lap is a hair-raising 107mph!

Warm-up: A new and different set up was tried this morning in an attempt to find better grip, but it didn't improve matters, so the team reverted to the qualifying set-up for the lunch-time race, with a new rear tyre barely lasting the 10 minutes of the warm-up session!

Race: As usual, starting with a new pair of Pirelli tyres for the race, Les got a reasonable start, ending the first lap in 12th. On lap 3 Steve Allan got past but immediately grounded his engine casing on a kerb, cracking it and coating the following riders with a fine mist of oil. Les was struggling for visibility and gradually dropped behind three other riders. On lap 7 Steve Allan pulled in to retire and as Les pulled off his last reamining tear-off, he set about re-passing the group which had dropped away from the leaders due to Steve Allan holding them up. On the next lap Mark Heckles crashed, and as the group spread out in a split second to avoid him, Les was delayed threading between Heckles and his bike. However he got his head down and passed one rider on each of the next laps, to head the group in 8th place on lap 11. It was clear that the next group were out of reach, so Les aimed for a safe finish over the remainning 7 laps as the tyres detriorated, the only excitement coming on the last lap as fellow Scot Doug Cowie sneaked by, however he was re-passed on the run to the last chicane, leaving Les satisfied with his hard-fought 8th place.

The next round is at Brands Hatch on June 18-20th, returning to the full GP version of the circuit where Les set a new lap record in April.

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Les set off on Thursday lunchtime for the 13 hour drive to the world famous Brands Hatch circuit, 20 miles south east of London, accompanied only by Dave Booth. The pair arrived at 1am and parked up for the night until they could get in and set up the teams awning. The bike had been updated slightly since Thruxton, having had the forks revalved (the parts that control the damping) and the rear shock absorber serviced and rebuilt. This meant that the untimed practice session was spent getting familiar with the feel of the forks, and finding a good base setting, rather than going for an out and out lap time.

Saturday morning: The duo were joined by Roger Bennett who had flown down for the weekend. Changes were made to the bike to make it steer into the corners more easily, and hold a line better round the corners, and of course it was fitted with a new pair of Pirelli tyres for the first qualifying - a medium compound front and rear, with a softer compound rear on standby to use at the end of the session.

All the changes were for the better, and les rode extremely well, getting right on the pace from the off, knocking over two seconds off his previous best, and sitting on the front row of the grid in third place. However, after a major slide, Les pitted to change for the softer rear tyre to try and go quicker. Unfortunately, he couldn't match the earlier time and slipped to 7th, but just 0.3 seconds off 3rd place on the grid.

Saturday afternoon: The weather was increasingly overcast, and right on cue it began to spit rain as the second superstock qualifying session got under way. Few riders improved their times, except for Dave Johnston who was a few hundredths of a second behind Les after the first session, but fitted some super sticky qualifying tyres from Dunlop, and went almost two seconds faster to jump to pole position! However, that performance could be considered false as he would have to run a much harder tyre in the race like everyone else. Les lined up 8th on the grid, which put him at the end of the second row, just one place behind arch rival Mark Heckles.

Sunday morning warm-up: Having found a good set up for the race, the only thing that hadn't been tried over the weekend was a 190 section rear tyre - the wider profile being considered by some riders to give better side grip when leaned right over. But Les wasn't impressed with it and chose to stick with the 180 rear for the race.

Weather conditions were deteriorating throughout the day, with showers getting heavier and more frequent, so although the team had four different rear tyres (soft wet, harder wet, intermediate and full dry) and three fronts (wet, inter, dry) all in warmers to ensure having the best one for the conditions, it was clear with half an hour to go that it would be full wets. So Les set off the half mile from the paddock to the grid while Dave and Roger set off on the scooter with the trailer piled high with wheels, stands, and tyre warmers!

After a minor flap on the sighting lap when water got on the inside of his visor, Les set off on the two warm up laps in pouring rain and set a scorching pace along with Scotsman Steve Allan and previous race winner Danny Beaumont. It looked like this trio would be in a race of their own. So it proved as the lights went green, and the pack rounded the first corner, with Les already up to third. Not for long though, as someone ne ran into the back of him going into the second corner, tipping Les off, and starting a chain reaction with two other riders falling. The cameras showed Les frantically trying to restart his bike to rejoin, but as he was doing so, a serious accident further round first lap caused the race to be stopped, and in light of the conditions, the race and rest of the meeting was abandoned. A long haul for no points, but not as bad as it could have been in terms of the championship.

The next round is our home event at Knockhill on the 3rd & 4th of July. Fingers crossed that the weather is kinder than last year, and allows Les to make full use of his track knowledge and get on the podium!

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A changeable weekend at Knockhill saw Les qualify 2nd in the dry on Saturday and finish 3rd in the rain on Sunday

FRIDAY PRACTICE

This session late on Friday afternoon went reasonably well with only minor adjustments being made to the bike. The conditions were far from perfect with the corners being wet and a dry line appearing on the straights, Les was out on wet tyres and with the drying conditions only 10 laps were managed before the rear tyre was in an unusable condition, a dry was fitted to finish out the session but Les took a cautious approach for the remainder of the session and finished in 10th position, 2 seconds off the fastest time.

SATURDAY 1ST QUALIFYING

The track was dry for this session but with the threat of rain looming the decision was taken to go out on a set of already scrubbed in tyres in an attempt to get a fast lap in straight away. The session remained dry throughout and Les was pole for a long time before slipping to 4th later on, then on his last lap put in brilliant lap time of 52.494 seconds putting him into 2nd position, a front row start! and only 0.235 of a second off of fellow Scot Steve Allen.

SATURDAY 2ND QUALIFYING

By 1pm on Saturday torrential rain had hit Knockhill and all 2nd qualifying sessions had to be cancelled.

SUNDAY RACE

Another day of unsettled (what’s new for Knockhill) weather saw the pit crew doing FOUR wheel changes before the race to ensure having the correct tyre for the conditions Wet tyres were eventually the only sensible choice.

Les got a good start and held 2nd into the first corner being narrowly missed by another rider going into the gravel trap. Two laps in, Les made a mistake whilst braking at the hairpin and ran wide which cost him a couple of places, putting him back into 5th position. Getting his head down as usual, he managed to pick his way back up through the field and by lap 10 was in 2nd and putting in some great lap times, he held this for a further 4 laps before having to slow for a group of back markers at the hairpin and championship leader Andy Tinsly grabbed the opportunity to pass, purring Les back to 3rd, there were some close exchanges in the slippery conditions before the end of the race and Les finished a close 3rd only 2.842 seconds off of 1st place man Steve Allen.

Les held the fastest lap for the race at 55.971 which is a superb time in the wet. To put this in perspective, in the British Superbike race that followed only 5 riders went faster and all from the top teams.

This is Les’s first time on the podium at British Championship and he says he likes it! Let’s hope this is the first of many.

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DOUBLE ROUND AT MALLORY NETS LES DOUBLE POINTS

SUMMARY
Rounds 7 and 8 were held at Mallory Park this weekend, with qualifying going well les was 4th (front row) but due to suspension problems in both races les was pushed back to having two 8th place finishes.

FRIDAY PRACTICE
Mixed weather conditions saw Les's 1st session wet with a drying line and although out for the whole session he decided not to push too hard in the tricky conditions, with a qualifying session in three hours time a crashed bike is not the best policy. One point to make here is that Les has not ridden this (newly altered) circuit for two years whilst some of the higher budget teams had tested through the week there.

1st QUALIFYING
Bright and dry with good grip, Les put in some good times and finished the session in 10th position

2nd QUALIFYING (Saturday morning)
Another warm sunny day enabled Les to better his 10th position. The plan for this session was to go out on a medium compound rear tyre, go as fast as grip would allow and once the tyre had gone off come in fit a soft compound tyre and go again, on the first tyre les had slipped to 11th but as soon as he came in and went back out on the soft tyre his lap times dropped finishing up in 4th position. FRONT ROW AGAIN !

RACE ONE
Les got a good start and had already made up a position, running in 3rd on the first lap, unfortunately by the end of the first lap the bike had developed an unnerving handling problem, and so Les began the battle to keep the bike on the track, he had constant grip problems with the front end and also the bike was not holding a line on the fast Gerrards bend, it was a battle not to hold position, but one of not crashing and Les brought the bike home in 8th position, this he considered a result as his comment was "I have never had as many near crashes in one race"

SUNDAY MORNING WARM UP
Quite a number of changes were made to the suspension on Saturday night in an attempt to prevent a re-occurrence of the previous race, initially the bike felt better but upon looking at the lap times the team realised that they were still quite a bit off where they needed to be, so for the race a safe option was taken to go back to qualifying settings with only minor adjustments

RACE TWO
Another excellent start saw Les rocket into 2nd position but on the first bend it was obvious to Les that the bike still wasn't right, Les then rode as hard as he could making some very calculated manoeuvres, he maintained a defensive line throughout the race, making it hard for other riders to pass thus preserving any points he could, this was as good a position as possible despite the suspension problems, finishing a credible 8th position under the circumstances.

Despite the major suspension problems Les has still managed to bag some valuable points this weekend and still maintains his 5th position in the championship, he has also opened the gap from 6th place man Steve Allan. A great deal of work now needs to done so solve the suspensions problems before the next meeting at Croft in three weeks time.

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CROFT 15th AUGUST

ANOTHER PODIUM FOR LES AT CROFT

SUMMARY OF EVENTS

Friday’s qualifying saw Les in 7th place followed by Saturdays fantastic effort put him into 2nd place, front row start for Sunday. Sunday’s race saw him go from 1st to 3rd then to 5th and fought his way back up to finish a very close 3rd.

FRIDAY PRACTICE

After heavy rain through the night the track was still damp and Les went for a cautious session under the tricky conditions trying to get a bit of a feel for the suspension improvements after Mallory Park.

FRIDAY QUALIFYING

This session was late afternoon and by this time the track was almost dried out, Les commented that the bike felt like it was on rails after the improvements that he and Dave had made to the bike. Les was in second position for almost the whole session but came in with a shredded tyre 2 minutes from the end and slipped to 7th.

SATURDAY QUALIFYING

A very hot day with track temperatures exceeding 40 degrees, Les decided to try some different tyre compounds, mechanic Dave had THREE wheel changes to do in the 25 min session. With only 6min remaining the last tyre went in and with Les now down in 9th he stuck in a blistering 1min24.666 second lap putting him up into 2nd pipped for pole by ex Superbike rider Lee Jackson.

SUNDAY RACE DAY

A brilliant day of sunshine brought out massive crowds to the Croft circuit for it’s British Superbike Championship debut. What an occasion for Les to produce out one of his best performances.

Les got off to a flying start leading the pack only to be passed early on pushing him back into 3rd,still feeling confident he was very close to championship leader Andy Tinsley and an over anxious overtaking manoeuvre saw him almost highside but luckily caught it before crashing, in the process loosing two places. Now the head was down and the “red mist” was on for a gutsy for another podium, he fought his way back to 3rd and very close to 2nd place man. With only three laps left of the 18 lap race, Les gave it everything for second but finished only 3 tenths of a second 2nd place man in 3rd. Winner was French Supersport champion Julien DA Costa 2 seconds in front.

A fantastic weekend for the team with another podium and more points. The bike also feels a lot better and things look promising for Cadwell Park in two weeks time.

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DISAPPOINTING WEEKEND FOR LES AT CADWELL PARK

SUMMARY
Les seemed to struggle with lap times the whole weekend and although he didn’t think that he was riding badly the faster lap times he needed did not come and he qualified in 15th place.

Disappointed with his qualifying he focused on getting a good start but after getting off the line well initially, he the collided with another rider and ended the race at the back of the field in 18th place he hopes this is to be his worst result for the season!

SATURDAY PRACTICE

This session went reasonably well with various alterations being made to the bike and although finishing out the session with many riders going faster, Les felt that there was still a lot to come.

SUNDAY 1st QUALIFYING

Although this was a qualifying session Les was still making adjustments to the bike, mainly gearing, but by the end of the session he was still not settled and felt he had not achieved the optimum out of his machine, thus finishing in15th position

SUNDAY 2nd QUALIFYING

By the afternoon there had been some showers of rain and despite it not raining for Les's session it was still very slippy in places, making it almost impossible to better his lap time in the morning in the dry, but all the same Les desperate to get up the front for the start of the race he went out with new gearing on to give it his all. The new gearing felt really good and with only 6 minutes left on the clock he pitted for a new rear tyre and fuel (1min 43seconds) he went back out and managed to knock another half second off of his time, unfortunately this was not enough to change his qualifying position of 15th

MONDAY WARM UP

Morning warm up went well with no dramas and Les being 10th fastest

MONDAY RACE

Starting from the 4th row Les knew he had it all to do and was focused on getting a good start. Despite there having been some light showers the track was virtually dry for the race.

Les got off the line well for a start but before the first corner he had collided with another rider, both staying on he then went for the brake at the first corner to find that the lever was bent almost out of reach and with another accident unfolding in front of him he backed off slightly to take a moment to access his bikes damage loosing him vital places putting him into 17th position, he maintained this until nearing the end of the race another rider out braked himself and forced Les off the track thus he finished in 18th.

After the race Les said that he had tried as hard as he could but never settled into the race with a view to gaining positions, unsettled throughout he said it was the worst race he has had all year

Les is still in 5th position in the championship and is hoping for better results at his favourite circuit Oulton Park, the next round in 2 weeks time.

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Friday free practice was a wet session but was wasted due to a slipping clutch, Friday night was spent sourcing new parts and fitting them.

First session Saturday and Les had to push as hard as he could because final qualifying looked as though it may be wet, Les finished in 14th position, he had encountered the same handling problems as Cadwell Park. For the second and final session the team made adjustments to the forks and rear shock aiming to get the bike steering the way Les prefers. The session was actually dry but resulted in an 18th position as the suspension changes made little difference.

Saturday night was spent investigating the bikes steering geometry, every aspect was checked and re-checked. After some much appreciated advice from Nail McKenzie the team arrived at some radical setting changes to help the bike steer better, this was a big gamble as the Superstock race was not till 5.30pm on Sunday with no warm up.

Race day dawned overcast with showers. Les got a good start but was always going to struggle to get through to the front of the pack from the 5th row of the grid. The R1 Yamaha was handling much better and Les began to move up the order to 14th until the race was stopped on lap 7 due to rain.

The team opted for the softest wet weather tyres front and rear for the restart due to the threatening weather, initially Les moved quickly through the field, but the expected weather never happened and the tyres turned out to be the wrong choice as the track dried very quickly during the 6 lap re-run, the heat build up was too much and destroyed the rear tyre after 2 laps. Les struggled to control the bike for the remainder of the race but took the bike home in 17th position.

Les is very disappointed with his results over the last two rounds after so many good results during the first three quarters of the 2004 season.

The team head for Donnington Park on Wednesday for a two day test session prior to the final BSB round held there this weekend. During the test session the team will be putting every effort into improving the R1’s handling further still. Les also hopes to be able to test one of the BSB teams full Superbikes during the sessions to further his experience and compare it to his own production based Superstock bike.

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ACTION PACKED WEEKEND AT DONINGTON

SUMMARY
The last round of the British Superbikes at Donington was an “all action” weekend for the Les Shand Racing team, after qualifying 3rd only squeezed off pole in the last 30 seconds of qualifying it was easy to see that Les and his Yamaha R1 were back on form for some close and exciting racing action.
The first race was on Saturday and after nearly crashing out on the first lap which put him back in 10th position, true to his character he fought his way back up to 6th position and with still 4 potential championship winners it was all very close and very entertaining.
The last race was on Sunday and Les bettered his last result with a 5th place, a nail biting end and only 0.3 of a second separating the 3 riders surrounding him. This secured his 5th place in the Superstock Championship and a great end to a brilliant season.

FRIDAY PRACTICE
After securing get some track time the day before through Naill Makenzie (thanks Naill) most of the bike set up had been done, so despite the rain the session went really well and Les felt quietly confident.

FRIDAY 1st QUALIFYING
Still raining but Les had a good bike set up, he stayed in the top handful throughout and with no real dramas he ended up in 4th position, front row again!!

SATURDAY 2nd QUALIFYING
A dry day but windy meant that it was all to play for again and the pace was very hot, Les put in some excellent lap times and in the 24th minute of his 25 minute session he put in a blistering lap and took POLE only for it to be taken from him in the last 30 seconds, he was pipped to 2nd and then 3rd but still front row!

SATURDAY 1st RACE (DRY)
Les got a good start but three corners in going down the very fast crainar curves he was hit by another rider, almost losing control, but using all his skill and the full width of the track he regained the bike and rejoined in 10th position, the “red mist” was on now and as the race progressed he made some very positive and outstandingly skilful racing moves and eventually got back up to 6th he crossed the line only half a second behind 5th place man.

SUNDAY 2nd RACE (DRY)
This was definitely “THE” all action race of the weekend with places being swapped lap after lap, Les had got a good start with the front group and was in a constant battle throughout the race with so much battling for positions it was always going to be close and it ended with him in 5th position, he said he had really enjoyed this fantastic race but he had worked very hard for the result.

Les has finished 5th in the British Superstock championship and says he is pleased with the way the season has gone, he only has one more meeting this year with his own bike where he has been asked to represent Scotland at the Celtic match races at Knockhill in two weeks time.

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Celtic Match Races & Scottish Championship - Knockhill

Saturday qualifying

Les went to Knockhill with a deposit for the sale of his race bike in his pocket; therefore he had to bear this in mind when racing. Les qualified 2nd on the grid for the Scottish Championship race but was using it as practise and didn’t want to get too involved or interfere with the points situation of the two championship leaders. Les finished 5th in the race.

Sunday

It was damp in the morning for warm up & dry for racing, Les had a nice steady race in the final leg of the Scottish Production Championship and with the 2 championship leaders in 1st & 2nd les stayed out of the action to allow them to battle it out, when the leader crashed on the last lap it left Les in second.

The main aim of the weekend was to win the Celtic match races for Scotland and to win the Manx Sword, Les was team captain and had a team game plan. There are 32 riders in each race with points being awarded from 32 to 1 dependant on your position. The team tactics were to start the fastest riders from the back of the grid and the slowest from the front this would maximise the overall team points scoring possibilities. The tactics would prove to be successful over the 2 legs. Despite being down two riders (due to crashes in previous races) they finished the first leg in 2nd lagging by only 12 points. In principle the theory was working with Les working his way through the field finishing 7th after starting from the back of the grid. For the 2nd leg the team were back to full strength, 7 laps in Les was in 7th with only Scottish riders and two unpassable Irish riders in front. Les sat in 7th and took blocking lines to protect the Scottish riders lead. On the last lap Les passed the next rider in a sprint over the finish line finally finishing 6th. This brought the Scottish team home with sufficient points to win the solos racing by 16 points and take home the Manx Sword.

Les was very happy that Scotland had won and would like to thank all his team mates for the massive effort in winning. Les finished the weekend with the race bike undamaged and delivered it to the proud new owner on the return journey home, leaving Les ready to make fresh plans for next season.

Despite being told by many top riders and people in the sport that he has the potential to succeed at even higher levels, Les entered this season knowing that he had to convince himself he could produce a winning package, he had to decide on a personal basis whether he thought he was good enough to succeed given a winning package. Following a very successful season with achievements such as, holding the lap record at Brands Hatch, best newcomer at the Northwest 200 and finishing 5th in the Superstock Championship against arguably some of the best riders in the country, Les has convinced himself that he has the capability to progress to higher levels. With past success in mind the Team will be making every effort during the winter months to put together a winning package to take to the Championship next year. Should we succeed in putting together this package we will enter next year with the sole aim of winning the Championship.

Les will not be totally rested during the winter months. Iain Duffus & Brian Morrison (both retired but highly successful Macau Grand Prix racers in the past) have put together a new team to race in the Macau (Hong Kong) Grand Prix (November 15th – 21st). They have invited Les to race for them on a Suzuki GSXR 1000, alongside team mate Dean Ellison who earlier in the season was racing on a Ducati Superbike in the British Superbike Championship. With many factory teams entering this prestigious race, Les is looking forward to the opportunity of racing in such a high profile event.

Needless to say we will bring you more news of this on Les’ return.

Les once again would like to thank his sponsors for their overwhelming support this year, he will do his best to thank as many people as possible in person on his return.

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Look out for les at the 38th Macau GP, use some of the links on this page to view other sites with info about the race.

Les is racing alongside Dean Ellison in the 38th Macau GP for Iain Duffus and last year’s third place finisher Brian Morrison in the the DMR Racing Team, Les will be riding the GSXR1000 Suzuki that was ridden by Kevin Schwantz at this year's Bol d'Or, the one that's got the TECH2000 suspension.

Results will be posted here as soon as we have them.

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The 38th Macau Motorcycle GP – Hotel Fortuna

Some of the best motorcycle riders in the world descended on Macau for the 38th Macau Motorcycle GP. 40 riders all wanting to do well and show the world how exciting motorcycle racing is. Les was one of these riders, he had been invited to race for DMR Racing run by Iain Duffus and Brian Morrison both highly experienced racers themselves.

The bike Les was racing (Suzuki GSXR 1000) in comparison with many of the other bikes was basically a production bike with suspension modifications (Tech 2000) and although still a very quick bike, the skill of the team and rider would be paramount in the finishing position.

Prior to the race Les had to rely on video footage, 3 laps in a hire car and four laps in a taxi for track familiarisation, not the ideal preparation but for his first time at the track Les had to do everything he could to learn each part before practice.

Day 1 – Thursday – Practice

First free practice – finished day with a 2.43 fastest lap and in 24th place.

Les’s experience made him ride well within his limits getting used to the unfamiliar track. Iain Duffus & Brian Morrison also gave him invaluable help based on their extensive experience. Les has proved in the past that he is able to correlate all this information into a competitive formula this occasion was to be no exception.

The afternoon should have been qualifying, however, the Porsche Carrera Cup had a crash which resulted in oil being trailed round the circuit, the stewards took the decision to make the qualifying session another practice and warning the riders of the oil hazard. At end of this session Les was in 27th with slower lap times due to the track conditions and nothing to be gained by pushing harder.

The marshals worked hard throughout the night to clean the track and by the next day it was far improved. Many thanks go to the hard working Marshals.

Day 2 - Friday qualifying 0730 start

Les was now comfortable with track layout and after a an hour session where the team worked really hard to improve the bike setup and Les took full advantage of the experience of the team, taking their advice on all aspects and combining it with his experience of the track on the day, he finished the day in a superb 12th position with a 2.33 lap time.

Day3 – Saturday - Race Day – Warm up at 0730-0800

Warm up went well with Les staying out for the full half hour but riding carefully due to oil left from the previous days car qualifying. He Finished the warm up in 10th with a 2.40 lap time.

The Race - 1515

Les was lined up on the grid complete with Macau Brolly Girls (photos & TV coverage to follow)

He got a good start moving through to 7th off the line, but at the end of the two first longest straights, he was passed by two riders, putting him back to 9th where he stayed until lap 4 when number 57 Jeremy Toye (USA superbike rider) passed him. Les continued to hold onto 10th until lap 6 when number 6 (Markus Bath) made a mistake and Les and other riders passed him, because Les was immediately behind Markus he had to back off, this allowed number 22 (James McBride) to pass Les. Les was now still holding 10th until lap 12 when he was passed by 23 (Stephen Thomspon) leaving les in 11th which he held to the end of the race.

Some very important statistics from the race.

There were two speed traps during the race, one at the finish line and one at Lisboa bend. The finish line gives an indication of bike power and the Lisboa bend tells how late a rider is braking.

Les was 17th fastest through the finish line 11kph slower than Michael Rutter the eventual winner, however, Les was faster than anyone else into the Lisboa bend, showing how hard Les was pushing.

Social time.

On Saturday night the Mayor of Macau invited the racers to his house and gave them a very warm and friendly welcome, many thanks to the mayor and his staff for the wonderful hospitality.

Summary

Yet again Les has proved how he can go to a completely unfamiliar track and produce outstanding performances whilst competing alongside some of the best riders in the world. This gives us a lot of encouragement for next year with Les’ confidence being high and his performances just keep improving.

The Les Shand Racing Team

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Plans are well advanced for 2005 although the decision on model of bike has not been finalised yet. Les was very pleased with the performance of his R1 last season but he’s also considering the new Suzuki which also looks promising, we’ll let you know when the decision has been made.

As with every season the team looks for Les to progress and develop his racing skills, with this in mind and in addition to the BSB racing, Les will compete in the IOM TT, NW 200 and Ulster GP this year.

Les has been asked to visit Belfast next week to assist in the launch for the NW 200.

The provisional fixture list for racing is below.

March 28th Brands Hatch
April 10th Thruxton
April 24th Mallory Park
May 2nd Oulton Park
May 15th Mondello Park
May 17th – 21st North West 200 (Ireland)
May 30th – June 11th I.O.M. TT
June 5th Croft
June 26th Knockhill
July 10th Snetterton
Aug 10th – 13th Ulster GP
Aug 21st Silverstone
Aug 29th Cadwell Park
Sep 11th Oulton Park
Sep 25th Donington Park
Oct 9th Brands Hatch

As always we look forward to seeing you at the meetings.

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excerpt from Jim Moodies website....
We here at Moodie info can confirm that Jim Moodie will manage the new Alistair Flanagan owned A.I.M. Superbike and Superstock team for the coming 2005 season. John McGuinness will spearhead the teams Daytona, British Superbike, North West, TT, and Ulster GP effort with promising Scot Les Shand heading the team's Superstock bid. Yamaha is the selected machinery and Jim Moodie took the time to explain the events that brought this all about.
"It's took a while but most people knew we had John on board before Christmas. We had a few things to sort out, including a second rider and the planning for Daytona. Now we have these things in place we can fully prepare for the season ahead"



"As Sean Emmett's manager it all started around the time I was finalising some details after Sean signed for the Virgin Yamaha squad. Initially I agreed with Alistair to take on a part time advisory role to run two Kawasaki's without a rider at that time. Then within four days it had turned around to run John McGuinness with Yamaha backing for the short circuits, TT, North West and Ulster GP. Alistair initially got Kawasaki's, in fact; one was used at Macau with Steve Allan as the rider. Don't get me wrong the Kawasaki's are good, but I feel the Yamaha will be the best package next year.

You know, what we did at the TT with John and also Sean's (Emmett) first test on the R1 where he changed the bike so radically from what Steve Plater, Gary Mason and Tommy Hill were riding that only the engine was untouched. In a short space of time Sean went faster than the 999 and I believe the bike will get even better. I think the Yamaha package could have been there sooner and after all you can only improve a bike with the feedback you get from the riders and a team can only develop a bike as fast as the information they are given. I think the Yamaha's true potential will come out in 2005 and to be honest I knew before hand, working with John at the TT, there was real potential".

Jim went onto explain the rider choice "Obviously John's road talent is unquestionable and that was the key to getting Yamaha assistance. Yes, John was certainly important in getting factory backing for the roads. The more we looked into it, if we can get John into good shape, and he is an exceptionally good short circuit rider, the more we believe he can run with the best and after all he was beside John Reynolds and Yukio Kagayama at Brands. We have a few things we need to work on with John, like his first half lap and getting more consistency over a full race distance, but I'm going to work on all that with him. John's now in the gym with me every week and I think people will be surprised and even shocked with the change come the seasons start. In fact I would say John's fitness is now better than Craig Jones and my judgment of fitness is as tough as it comes. John Said it's great to be sorted out early especially with people I have 100% trust in. Jim was a major help at last years TT and naturally that made the decision all that easier. The Superbike championship is where I want to be and I'm training with Jim to make sure my fitness won't let me down. Jim said of Les Shand, "I've watched for a few years now and he done well to finish fifth in the 04 Superstocks. I'm sure there were occasions with the right guidance, encouragement and advice that he could have finished higher. Les is with us for the British Superstocks and although he has intentions for the North West and TT, that will be outside the teams official plans". Les Shand said "I'm over the moon, I know there will be extra pressure and another pair of eyes watching. I know there will be someone saying, Leslie you could have got him there. Jim helped me last year and he never misses anything, his advice and experience is second to none and yes, I'm really pleased to be given this opportunity".

As for the team structure Jim said "It's basically the same team structure and personnel as our successful 2004 TT set up. We'll be running official Yamaha colours and we'll also be the main Yamaha entry for the major road events and a satellite team with John in the British Superbike championship. We have two of the most renowned tuners in place and we'll be using Ohlins suspension with the latest gas forks as well as the Motec engine management system. In fact there's nothing on this bike, that I can think of anyway, that will be second best and all going well with my leg, by mid season the plan is to get some testing done myself to keep my eye in. Yes, after the North West and TT we should have some spare machinery that would allow me to do some testing".

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Les Shand had his first outing of the year today, Sunday March 13th, at a bitterly cold Donington Park. The Leicestershire circuit was playing host to the first official British Championship test day and with two practice sessions for the Superstock class it was the first opportunity to blow away the cobwebs in readiness for the season ahead. It was also the first opportunity for Les to debut his 2005 R1 Yamaha in the all-new AIM Racing colour scheme although it proved to be a disappointing day.

With the air temperature at just 6 degrees and track temperature not much higher, the session got underway on time at 11.25am and 38 eager riders took to the 2.5-mile circuit. Les was taking things nice and easy as he got back into his rhythm comfortably running in the 1m 41 second bracket and inside the top ten, without pushing hard. He pitted after a couple of laps to make a few adjustments before returning to the circuit for his second stint. With the session lasting 35 minutes it was the perfect time to make such adjustments in order to get as perfect a set-up with the machine as possible.

However, as he flicked through the high speed Craner Curves section, on the 9th lap, the front end tucked under and he crashed out, sliding along the grass. He was uninjured but the same couldn’t be said for the bike, which dug into the ground and cartwheeled over and over before coming to a halt, considerable damage having been done. Indeed, the Yamaha was damaged beyond repair and Les now faces a race against time to prepare the bike for the opening round of the championship at Brands Hatch, which gets underway on Saturday 26th.

Speaking upon his return to the paddock Les commented: “I’ve no idea what happened, I tipped into Craner exactly as I had done every lap and the front just folded with absolutely no warning whatsoever. I’d only done 8 laps and was just easing myself back in, getting the bike and myself dialled in again. I wasn’t pushing hard as my lap times show. (The lap record currently stands at1m 35.621 seconds). Three other riders had come off just before me so maybe there was some oil, or other bits of debris, on the track.”

“Obviously it’s very disappointing and not the way I wanted to start the season, especially with it being my first time out in the colours of AIM Racing. That’s racing though and, fortunately, I wasn’t hurt although the pride and wallet have taken a bit of a dent! I’m going to have to miss the test day at Brands on Tuesday and will now have to work flat out to get the bike ready for the first round in two weeks time. It’s a bit of a set back but I’ll bounce back and will definitely be fully prepared when the lights turn green at the first race.”

Report courtesy of Phil Wain

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Keep an eye out for a special report on Les - reporting Scotland tonight at approx 6.45, he’ll be in the sports report.

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Les Shand got his British Superstock Championship campaign underway over the Easter holiday weekend, with the opening round of the 2005 season taking place at Brands Hatch in Kent. After the crash at Donington Park two weeks previous, Les was out on his number two bike and was playing catch-up to his championship rivals who had had a lot more track time in preparation for the first round.

Whilst Saturday’s free practice was held in dry, sunny conditions the same couldn’t be said for Sunday, which dawned cold and misty. With two 25-minute qualifying sessions during the course of the day, track time was vital to Les as he looked to make up for the lost time suffered as a result of the Donington crash. Although he managed to put in 22 laps during the morning’s first session a broken steering damper hindered his progress considerably and a time of 49.972seconds left him outside the top 25. This placed even more emphasis on the final qualifying session where he managed to knock over a second off his time, with a lap of 48.728 seconds. This elevated him to 14th place, good enough for a fourth row start.

Race day on Easter Monday again dawned misty but as the 26-lap race got underway at 12.00pm, the sun had found its way through the clouds. A good start was always going to be crucial but Les found himself outside the top twenty on the opening lap and with overtaking difficult around the 1.22 mile circuit, it was a tall order to make any impression. Try as he might, he couldn’t break through into the top 20 with main championship rivals, amongst others, Andy Tinsley and Lee Jackson leading the way. As the race neared its conclusion, another rider fell from his machine and the resulting debris resulted in a premature end to the race, a result being declared at 23 laps. Whilst 2003 champion Tinsley took a commanding win, Les was a distant 21st.

At the end of the race Les said, “All in all it was a tough weekend and not what I was hoping for at the first round. I was suffering from a lack of rear-end grip and nowhere was this more evident than through the left-hander at Surtees and on the exit of Clearways. I was quite slow through here as a result and you need to be quick through these corners to carry all your speed onto the straight.”

“The bike set-up isn’t quite there yet so I’m really desperate for quality track time after the crash at Donington – all the other riders have got a considerable head start on me. The bike’s brand new, and I’m running different tyres and suspension to what I had last year so it’s like starting all over again. More track time on the bike will allow me to diagnose fully what changes need to be made to get me further up the grid. It wasn’t like I was starting at zero again, it felt more like minus 50 or something so the main aim of the weekend was to bag as many points as I could. Sadly, that wasn’t to be and it turned out to be, essentially, another test session and that’s not what racing is about. The only consolation from the weekend was that I still hold the lap record around the Brands Indy circuit.”

“I spent the two weeks leading up to Brands running around trying to get all the parts for the bike so my mind’s been elsewhere and I feel like I’m still only semi-settled. I’m going to try and get out at Knockhill on Saturday to get the bike properly set up in time for Thruxton where I’m going to have to dig deep to get the right result. The sooner I can get back into my normal routine of going to the gym and preparing for the races etc the better. It should make me a lot more comfortable and ensure my mind is solely on the job of racing. Combine that with more track time on the bike and I’m sure we’ll be there or thereabouts at the sharp end of the results.”

The British Superstock remains in the south of England for round 2, which takes place at Thruxton, Hampshire on Sunday April 10th.

Race report by Phil Wain

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Round 2 of the British Superstock Championship saw Les Shand and his team make their way to the fast and bumpy turns of Thruxton in Hampshire and he was able to claim his first points of the season with 13th place in the 18-lap race. Although still not the result he was hoping for, strides were made over the weekend with the bike and Les was able to feel that he’d ridden and raced hard during the race.

Saturday’s qualifying sessions were blighted by cold and windy conditions, which caused havoc for the majority of the field and Les spent considerable time working on the set up of his R1 Yamaha. After ending 11th in the first 25-minute session, radical changes were made to the front forks in a bid to assist the front end steering, crucial for the high speed, bumpy turns of Thruxton. The changes worked and Les was able to shave half a second off his time in the afternoon and, although he slipped back to 13th overall, he closed the gap to pole setter Adrian Coates to 1.3 seconds.

Race day on Sunday saw the wind ease slightly and, with the sun shining, the riders blasted away exactly on time at 12.05pm. The first corner at Thruxton comes almost immediately after the start line and, with 35 riders fighting for track position it was inevitable that something would give. Sure enough, 2001 champion Paul Young, who had qualified second, got into trouble and was almost thrown over the handlebars, the ensuing recovery costing the riders behind him valuable time. Les was on the outside of Young and had to ease off the throttle in order to avoid the Australian and he dropped a number of places. He re-grouped and began to pick off the riders in front of him and was looking good for a top ten position.

As it turned out, he fell just short and although he made his way to the front of a thrilling 7-rider battle for 10th, positions were changing all the time – 10th one lap could quite easily have been 17th the next. Down in 16th with just a few laps remaining Les battled all the way to the chequered flag and was rewarded for his efforts with a battling 13th place finish.

After claiming three points, his first of the season, Les commented: “Phew, what a race that was! It was unbelievably hectic and there were so many incidents during the race it was unreal and although I know I’m capable of an awful lot more than 13th, it was a very enjoyable race with a hard battle throughout and plenty of overtaking. I got off the line well but Paul Young almost highsided in front of me and I had to run really wide as he tried to keep control. That cost me quite a few places and then there was some debris on the circuit from James McBride’s crash, which nearly fetched me off. I don’t know what it was but I ran over something hard, possibly a handlebar, and had to close the throttle to stay on board. When something like that happens it also makes you wonder if it’s something off your bike.”

“All of this meant that I’d slipped back even more places and had plenty of work to do but, with such a big group of riders, as soon as I passed someone they would always come straight back, people were cutting across your front wheel all the time. There was about 7 of us fighting for 9th and when I had a clear track I was able to lap half a second quicker than them and I’m sure if Youngy hadn’t have had his moment, I could have been fighting it out for 5th with the lads that were in the group ahead of mine. It was a very eventful race to say the least and, at one stage, one of the Vivaldi Racing riders collided with me at about 160mph – it was certainly action all the way.”

“I was a bit downhearted after practice and was still struggling with the forks and he front end in the morning warm-up but I got my head down during the race and am pleased to get some points beside my name. I’m happy with the way I rode and it actually felt like I was racing properly rather than riding round. My confidence is gradually coming back and we’re moving forward all the time with the bike. I’m sure that I could have finished comfortably in the top ten but for all the incidents but I’m a lot happier now than what I was after Brands.”

Les will be back out on the R1 Yamaha this Friday (15th April) at Oulton Park for the official British Championship test day where he will be looking to make further improvements with the machine. He’s then heading straight to the Isle of Man to put in plenty of laps on a road bike around the Mountain Circuit in preparation for his debut at the world famous event in June. The British Superstock Championship will then head to Mallory Park in Leicestershire, with round 3 of the series taking place on Sunday April 24th
Report by Phil wain

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Les Shand made further strides towards the front of the British Superstock Championship this weekend with a strong showing in both qualifying and the race at the 1.39-mile Mallory Park circuit. The race was blighted by incidents but Les managed to avoid all of the trouble and claim 8th position, his best result of the season so far. He was also in touch with the leading group throughout and finished just 3 seconds adrift of the final podium place.

Saturday’s qualifying sessions saw many riders out on the circuit and meant that getting a quick lap time in was going to be difficult. Despite the heavy traffic, Les put in some strong, consistent laps and ended qualifying in 7th position, his best showing thus far. The machine was working well, in particular the front end, and Les was second quickest in the first sector, a clear indication that he was returning to his old self. The performance was particularly impressive as he was knocked off his paddock scooter earlier in the day, the end result being numerous bumps and bruises.

Race day was sun kissed but every race on the programme was affected by crashes and red flags and Les’ race didn’t get underway until 5.15pm. Full race distance was planned but a heavy crash on the opening lap, which involved four riders, brought out the red flag once more and the race was cut to 14 laps. The start was a messy affair with many riders ‘creeping’ forward before the lights had changed and although Les got away well, he lost a few places going into Gerard’s Bend, the first corner, dropping him out of the top ten. However, he moved back up the order before the pace car came out to attend to the fallen Andy Tinsley, one of the pre-season favourites.

After two laps behind the pace car, the race re-commenced and Les was holding onto a solid 8th place, running in the company of his close rivals, including Craig Fitzpatrick and Ryan Rainey. The group of six riders were nose to tail right but the positions remained the same until the chequered flag meaning it was a hard earned 8 points that Les added to his championship tally.

Speaking at the end of what was a very hectic race, Les commented: “That’s more like it – a top 8 finish and I was in touch with front runners which is obviously very important. I was quite glad the first race was stopped as I had made a poor start and things went a lot better the second time around although I was convinced a few of the riders would get jump starts. I should have been a lot harder into the first corner and made myself a bit wider as I ended up losing a bit of ground. I managed to make up quite a few places and got up to 8th, just behind the group of riders battling for 3rd. It was very difficult to find anywhere to overtake but I’m sure that if the race had been the full 25 laps I would have been able to overhaul a few of them.”

“Overall, I’m pleased with the way the weekend has gone. We’ve made further progress with the bike and I’m getting more and more confident with my own riding. This has been reflected in my lap times and in the race I was only one tenth of a second slower than the riders in the top 5 so I’m definitely heading in the right direction. I got through the meeting unscathed, unlike a number of others, and am edging ever closer to the front-runners, the riders who I know I’m capable of running with. The team worked well all weekend and Alistair had a word with me after the race to say how pleased he was, which was good to hear. I’m really looking forward to Oulton and am hoping for more of the same – I’m certainly looking at getting into the top five.”

There was further good news at the end of the meeting when team owner Alistair Flanagan asked Les to ride one of the AIM Racing Superbikes at Round 6 of the series at Croft. Flanagan has been very pleased with the progress being made by Les, after a troubled start to the season, and has given him the opportunity as a reward for his progression towards the front of the championship.

Round 4 of the British Superstock Championship is in just one weeks’ time at Oulton Park, the race taking place on Monday May 2nd and hopes are high for another good result.

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BEST RESULT OF THE SEASON FOR SHAND

Les Shand continued to make progress towards the front of the British Superstock Championship today, taking his best result of the season at Oulton Park. After another strong performance in qualifying, Les and his R1 Yamaha moved through the field to take a fine 5th place at the Cheshire venue, re-confirming that his season is now well and truly back on track.

The two days of practice were held in mixed conditions but it was dry when it mattered and Les opened his account by ending up 8th after the first qualifying session on Sunday. With the bike working well, he was able to shave one and a half seconds off his lap time in final qualifying although with all the other riders doing similar he was only able to move up to 7th on the grid. Nevertheless, it was his second successive second row start and hopes were going high into Monday’s race although the threat of rain was still very much in the air.

As it turned out, the Superstock race enjoyed the best conditions of the day and they were first up on the 7-race programme. After getting a good start, the first corner shenanigans took place and Honda rider Ian Hutchinson ran into the side of Les, putting him onto the rumble strips on the edge of the track and dropping him back down the order to 10th. He re-grouped and began to pick off the riders in front of him and, after dispensing with Ryan Rainey and Ollie Bridewell, moved into fifth place.

From that moment on, it was quite a lonely race for Les although in the closing stages 2003 champion Andy Tinsley began to reel him in. However, Les was determined to keep his position and managed to fight off the close attentions of Tinsley by just 0.014 seconds, to take a fine fifth place.

Speaking at the conclusion of his best finish of the season, Les commented: “It’s been another satisfying weekend and I’ve been in the top 8 all of the time. Obviously, it would have been nice to get on the podium but we had no dramas during the weekend and we’re getting ever closer to the front-runners. I was determined to get a good start, which I achieved, but then got pushed wide at the first corner so I had to get my head down. I was pushing as hard as I could in the first few laps and once I’d got into fifth place, it was quite an uneventful race.”

“However, my pit board was changing all the time, saying ‘+7, +6, +5 so I knew someone was closing in fast. I’d seen Andy Tinsley take to the grass in the early stages so I had a feeling it may have been him but I kept focused and held him off. I went into Deer’s Leap, immediately before the finish line, as hard as I’ve ever gone and the whole bike was spinning up but I wasn’t going to give fifth place up! The team worked well all weekend and I’m confident that it won’t be long before we’ll be able to celebrate a podium finish.”

The next round of the series takes place on Sunday May 15th at Mondello Park in Southern Ireland, the first time the British Superstock Championship has ventured across the water. Les has also managed to get hold of a 600cc R6 Yamaha, which he will take to Mondello for the extra track time before using it at both the North West 200 and TT.

Race report by Philip Wain

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Round 5 of the British Superstock Championship saw Les Shand make his way across the Irish Sea to Mondello Park in Southern Ireland and the AIM Racing rider got his third successive top 8 finish of the season. After a steady start to the race, Les was embroiled in a 6-man scrap for 8th place but the 28-year old came out on top to take the 8 points and move up to ninth in the championship table.

With perfect conditions throughout the weekend, Les had a difficult start to the weekend and initially struggled to get to grips with the circuit on what was his first visit to the track. He only managed to take 24th place in Friday’s free practice sessions but some major changes to the bike, coupled with extra track time on the recently acquired 600 R6 Yamaha, enabled him to jump up to 7th in Saturday’s first qualifying. He went quicker still in the final session but heavy traffic prevented totally clear laps and he ended up 9th overall and on the third row of the grid

It was still a very sunny as the Superstocks blasted off the line in what was the final race of the day and Les got away cleanly although he did slip back a couple of positions. Throughout the race he was embroiled in a terrific battle with a number of riders including Kelvin Reilly, Alistair Seeley, Denver Robb and Aaron Zanotti, a battle that went all the way to the chequered flag. The riders swapped positions each and every lap but Les was able to hold the upper hand more often than not and he held off the chasing pack to take 8th place, moving onto 30 points in the championship chase.

After taking eight hard-earned points, Les commented: “I’m quite satisfied with the result as this circuit is completely different to anything else I’ve ever ridden on! Despite being a long track the majority of corners are taken in 2nd and 3rd gears, which mean it’s a very slow lap and I struggled to get going in the early stages. Riding the 600 in the Supersport practice helped me quicken my pace and with some radical changes to the bike, to compensate for the circuit, we were able to move forward considerably. I opted not to ride the 600 as it was mainly acquired to get a feel for the circuit and to help out at the TT and, with it being totally standard, it was about 20bhp down to the tuned machines.”

“It did the job though, although it may not be ultra competitive at the North West 200 this next week, where a fast bike is essential. I’m really looking forward to getting back out on the roads and I’ve got as much chance as anyone else in the Superstock race. A lot of people are expecting me to get on the podium after taking 4th place last year but it won’t be easy as the competition is a fair bit stronger this year and I’d say the Suzuki’s have a bit of a speed advantage compared to the Yamaha’s. I’m going to get my head down though and try my absolute hardest and would love to get onto the podium. I can’t wait to get out there!”

The International North West 200 road races get underway on Tuesday evening when first practice takes place with another session on Thursday evening before the races take place on Saturday. It promises to be a busy week for Les who will have outings in the aforementioned Superstock race, both Supersport 600cc races and both Superbike races, although he will only have his regular Superstock machine for the latter events.

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Race1 Superbike 10th
Race 2 600 supersport 15th
Race 4 Superstock 4th
Race 6 NW200 Superbike 14th

(race report to follow)

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Les Shand made his now annual trip to Northern Ireland last week for the International North West 200 road races. Held just a stone’s throw from the world famous Giant’s Causeway, the 8.9-mile circuit links the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush, using the public highways usually used by everyday traffic.

Tuesday evening’s opening practice session was held in cool, damp conditions but Les handled them perfectly and was flying on the Superstock machine. He ended the session in 5th place and then used the same machine in the Superbike class to take 14th. However, despite posting the ninth fastest time, he was listed as a non-qualifier for the Supersport 600cc class as riders had to put in two laps above the qualification time and he’d only completed one – his two other laps on the machine were below the necessary speed. However, with Thursday evening seeing perfect weather and track conditions, the grid would be determined from the times set in the final session.

Sure enough, the evening saw some fast lap times with speeds almost 15mph higher than the previous evening. With a lap of 116.783mph, Les maintained his 5th place in the Superstock, which was good enough for a second row start. He went quicker still in the Superbike practice with a speed of 117.010mph elevating him up to 11th place, the first of the Superstock machines. It was a very busy evening for Les and the team especially as the Superstock machines were out on the circuit at the same time as the 600’s. Nevertheless, Les still managed to qualify his 600cc Yamaha in 14th place and hopes were high going into Saturday’s racing.

Saturday dawned with clear blue sky and bright sun, just what the 100,000 race fans wanted and the DeWalt Performance Tools Superbike blasted off the line just after 11am. Despite being up against the more powerful Superbike machines, Les more than held his own on his Superstock R1 Yamaha and was running just outside the top ten. There were 5 riders dicing for 10th spot and Les made his move on Guy Martin at University Corner but Guy immediately fought back at the Ballysally roundabout and Les was almost forced to take the right exit rather than the left, which was the correct direction! Fortunately, he was able to keep on the track and got after Martin, retaking him on the final lap. He held off the pursuing pack to take a fine 10th place and posted a best lap of 117.954mph to get the day off to a great start.

A heavy rain shower delayed the first 600cc race and made tyre choice a lottery. Les was at quite a disadvantage compared to the majority of his rivals as he was on a standard road bike with just 1500 miles on the clock! Although he had done a bit of dyno work with the fuelling, it was a bit of a mis-match but he got his head down at the start despite the treacherous track conditions. The race was quite uneventful until the fourth lap when he slid off at the slow Metropole corner after a coming together with another rider. He quickly remounted but he was now quite a distance behind the group of four riders he was dicing with and a damaged gear lever meant it was simply a case of getting the machine to finish. This is what he duly did and took the chequered flag in 15th.

Next for Les was the Superstock race and this was the race that he was looking forward to the most, with it being his usual British Championship class. Rain (and hail!) had again saturated the course and Les opted for full wet tyres on both the front and rear of the machine. The circuit was drying rapidly though so Les knew he had to go quickly in the first few laps. With a good start he was running inside the top six but the front 3 riders had escaped at the front of the field and the yearned for podium was almost certainly out of reach. After 3 good laps, Les was up to fifth and embroiled in a battle with Denver Robb although his tyre had shredded and was almost down to the canvas. He gritted his teeth and hung on and, after getting a good run through the Juniper chicane, he got the power down and rode around the outside of Robb up Quarry Hill to take 4th place for the second successive year – a brilliant ride!

There was no respite for Les with the second 5-lap 600cc race soon called to the line and he got a great start from his fifth row position to move into 6th at York Corner. However, the rider in front of him eased off suddenly through the following 150mph Station Corner and Les was only just able to avoid him, a very close moment indeed. Consequently, he lost a lot of places as a fast line through Station gives you a great run along the two-mile stretch to the University corner. Although it was only the first lap, any chance of a top ten position had disappeared and from there on in, Les had a fairly uneventful and lonely race, eventually finishing in 13th place.

In what had been a long day, Les came under starters orders for the final time with the feature Blackhorse Finance North West 200 Superbike race. Another heavy hail shower resulted in the race being cut to five laps and conditions really were horrendous as the riders left the line. It wasn’t a time for heroics and Les just rode his own race at his own speed and finished in 14th place, thus ensuring he had finished all five of his races inside the top 15, a more than creditable achievement.

A tired Les commented: “It’s been a long and tiring day and I was quite relieved when the final race was over. Conditions at times were really tricky and I wasn’t prepared to stick my neck out that much. Overall though, I’m pleased with the way the day went and I got five solid results, finishing all of my races, which not many other riders achieved. The weather spoilt it a little bit for everyone but I had a good day’s racing and although I was desperate to finish on the podium in the Superstock race, I’m happy with another fourth position. On hindsight, five races was possibly a bit too much and was a lot of hard work so I have to thank everyone in the team for all their efforts throughout the week. I’ve had a good insight into the bike and what needs to be done so I can now look forward to the TT races and concentrate on the job in hand there. It’s going to be a tough fortnight on the Isle of Man and I’ve got a lot to learn but I can’t wait to get started.”

Les now heads to the Isle of Man where he will make his debut in the TT races. First practice is on Saturday May 28th, when the opening evening session takes place, and Les will have four rides in total – the Superstock event, both Junior 600cc races (all 4-laps) and the 6-lap Senior Superbike. It will be an extremely hectic fortnight with Round 6 of the British Superstock Championship taking place on June 6th, in the middle of the TT festival.

Report by Phil Wain

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Les Shand completed his first ever week of practice at the Isle of Man TT Races on Friday evening and was satisfied with his week’s work in what has been a steep learning curve. The 37 ¾ mile course is, without doubt, the ultimate test of man and machine and the hardest race in the world. Experience counts for everything and the weather conditions haven’t given Les the opportunity to get in as many laps as possible. Nevertheless, at the end of the week he had lapped at an impressive 115.717mph on the Superstock machine, the fastest newcomer of the week, and 111.382mh on the Supersport.

Saturday’s opening session saw gale force winds over the Snaefell Mountain and the organisers took the wise decision of running an untimed session so it was Monday evening when the competitors took to the circuit for the first ‘proper’ session. Held in near perfect conditions all the way round the course, Les ended the evening with a speed of 108.075 on the 600 R6 Yamaha and 110.396mph on the 1000 R1 Yamaha.

Tuesday saw similar weather and all of the competitors were able to get in some quality laps with John McGuinness, Les’ team-mate at AIM Racing, setting a brilliant time of 125.262mph. Meanwhile, Les was taking his time and gradually building his speed up as his knowledge improved. Sure enough, this was reflected in the times at the end of the 75-minute session with Les increasing his speed on the big bike to an excellent 115.717mph, making him the fastest newcomer of the week. He also went quicker on the 600, moving up to 111.382mph.

The next two sessions were lost due heavy rain fall and mist on the mountain so it would be Friday evening before Les got back out on the world famous TT course again. This was only made possible due to the decision being made to miss out on the British Superbike ride at Croft. Les was due to fly out from the Island on Thursday night but the strong winds prevented that and he wouldn’t have been able to get to Croft until Friday evening, thus missing a full day’s practice. Therefore, on safety grounds, Les decided to skip Croft and concentrate totally on the TT.

Friday again saw near-perfect conditions although it was almost like starting over again for Les as he re-acquainted himself with the course. He managed to put four laps in and again lapped at over 115mph on the Superstock bike, slightly slower than his time from Tuesday evening.

At the end of his first week on the Isle of Man Les commented: “It’s been an amazing learning experience and everything that I’d been told about the place really hit home as soon as I got out on the course. Saturday’s opening session wasn’t the ideal time for a newcomer like myself as the winds were horrendous so it really opened my eyes. I had a few scary moments and when you’re doing speeds in excess of 170mph it’s not good for your first time out. Monday was a lot better though and I felt more comfortable on the bike and was able to take a few steps forward. Tuesday was a similar story and I was able to tuck in behind some of the faster guys as they came by and learnt quite a bit.”

“When I went out on Friday, it was like I hadn’t seen the place for a month and it took me a while to get dialled in again. Ken Doherty also crashed in front of me at Greeba and that threw my mind for about a lap. When I got back to the pits I realised that I’d made the right decision to stay on the Island as it would have been 6 days between Tuesday night and Monday’s ra