The current British Superbike champion Tommy Hill is gearing-up for a guest appearance at the annual Adelaide Motorcycle Festival which begins a three-day run at the King’s Hall, Belfast on February 10.
Hill who will celebrates his 27thbirthday the day before the show opens was involved in a cliff-hanging finish to the 2011 title race decider.
“I did it by half-a-wheel,” reflected Hill. “In fact the official difference between myself and John Hopkins was just 0.006 of a second.”
“That meant the championship was mine for the first time but it was close, I won it with two points to spare.”
“So far as Belfast is concerned I’m really looking forward to the trip. The fans over there are both fanatical and knowledgeable.”
Hill has sampled both the World Superbike and World Supersport Championships but he was originally a motocrosser.
At the early age of six Hill quickly moved to high level schoolboy motocross. However, at the age of 14 he had a near fatal motorcycle accident which caused him to briefly retire from the sport.
But Hill still had an ambition to race and ride motorcycles and he soon returned making his debut in the British Championship in 2001. This was to be his first stepping stones into the world of Superbike racing.
Since then he has become the youngest rider to win a Superbike race, the youngest rider ever to qualify on pole position at a World Superbike Championship event and of course last year he became a BSB champion for the first time.
Hill who, hails from Kent, won seven races last season. He had 17 podium finishes, nine pole positions and eight fastest laps.
No wonder he has been retained by Swan-Yamaha where his team-mate is Yorkshire’s Ian Hutchinson who will also grace the Festival.
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Hill promises to be a huge draw,” said show promoter Billy Nutt. “That never-to-be forgotten final race at Brands Hatch has already gone down in the history books as the closest-ever.”
“Hutchy created his own piece of history back in 2010 when he became the only rider to win five Isle of Man TT races in the same week,” added Nutt. “But at the end of that season he was involved in an horrific crash not of his making.”
“It took him 18-months to recover and last November he set the Macau Grand Prix alight by finishing third.”
For his part Hutchinson said: “This year is definitely a big one for me and I have never been looking forward to a season so much.”
“I am glad that I had the opportunity to race at the end of last year as I have always had faith in my own ability but I just needed to prove to any doubters that I could still race. I have wanted to race in BSB for several years.”
“However, right now I’m focused on another visit to Belfast—I’ve some very fond memories of both the North-West 200 and the Ulster Grand Prix and I intend doing both again this year.”
Hill and Hutchinson will be joined at the King’s Hall complex by Alistair Seeley the recently crowned Enkalon Irish Motorcyclist of the Year.
Seeley who won the British Supersport title last year is now preparing for a return to the Superbike ranks again riding for the Tyco TAS Suzuki team.
So far as the display of racing machinery is concerned Nutt is delighted to have a rather special factory Yamaha taking pride of place.
“This is the bike on which Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo won the 2010 MotoGP world championship,” said Nutt. “It’s thanks to Hurst Motorcycles that this Yamaha will be brought over from Holland.”
“We are also banking on the Ballymoney-based JMF Millsport team unveiling their new Ducatis as well as their rider Steve Mercer.”Home
Make a note of the Festival dates: Friday February 10, Saturday February 11 and Sunday February 12—just the ideal build-up to St Valentine’s Day!
For further information contact Billy or Marty at Nutt Promotions on 028 7035 1199 or email billy@nutttravel.com or visit the promoters’ website www.nutttravel.com and click on Motorcycle Festival.
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