Race Sponsorship

In 2010, British Superbikes 125GP rider, Simon Low, secured a sponsorship deal that will help him to establish himself as a key contender in this years competition. Shop4bikers specialises in the suppling of secure storage sheds for motorcycles and has a thriving Internet-based business selling motorcycle clothing, accessories and models, has teamed up with Simon and provided much-needed funding ahead of the new season.

Simon (23), who steps up from Thundersport GP3 to the BSB 125GP class this year, will carry the Shop4Bikers.co.uk brand on his new, orange-liveried Honda Dutch-2-UK Racing machine throughout the coming seasons.

Being, involved with motorbikes Securit GB Ltd (shop4bikers), is aware how hard it is to run a racing team, but now with the credit crunch it is even harder to get sponsorship, our company wants to help a new potential rider to keep going through these hard times!

Caroline Moore, company secretary and board director of Securit GB, which operates Shop4Bikers.co.uk, said: “We were really proud to help Simon Low last season and it is wonderful that our business has made the move up to the main sponsorship deal. It will be tremendous to see our name racing in BSB this year (2010) and we expect Simon and his team every success in a highly competitive field.”

Disappointing final round for Low
Twickenham's Simon Low had a disappointing end to his 2010 British 125cc Championship campaign on Sunday when he was forced to retire at the final round at Oulton Park. The Team Shop4Bikers/Dutch-2-UK Racing rider was working his way through the pack after a lowly qualifying performance but it was all to no avail as he retired on the fourth lap and so he ended the year parked up beside the track.
 
Friday's free practice sessions had gone well for Simon and the team and, once they'd got the suspension correctly set up for the undulating Oulton circuit, he was able to reduce his times considerably, a lap of 1m52.936s placing him 22nd fastest at the end of the day. Saturday morning's first qualifying session looked like it would be even better still as Simon replicated that lap time on just his third lap but as he entered the Shell Olis Corner for the sixth time, his entry speed was too quick and he crashed out, also taking out Shaun Horsman. The bike was extensively damaged and although the team were able to repair the bike in time for final qualifying later in the afternoon, the crash damage had affected the performance of the engine and Simon was, literally, powerless to respond as he slipped back to 31st on the grid.
 
With the bike stripped, cleaned and re-built overnight, Sunday morning warm-up showed the bike's speed had improved considerably and, with conditions again perfect, Simon made his usual trademark start in the 12-lap race to leap up to 25th and this soon became 23rd as he overtook more riders on the second lap. As he started his fourth lap, he was already knocking on the door of the top 20, with Championship points again looking a possibility, only for disaster to strike as he approached the Hizzy's chicane. Feeling the engine 'nip up' Simon managed to negotiate the corner but no sooner had he exited the final right hand bend, the bike seized completely and his race was over.
 
Speaking later, Simon commented: "It's been a disappointing end to what's been quite a disappointing season. It's been my first season in the British Championship and whilst I knew it was going to be tough, I never realise we'd encounter all the problems that we have done. The crash on Saturday was completely my fault and it set us back a long way and from that moment on we were struggling. The bike was last through the speedtraps on Saturday afternoon although the guys in the team did a great job of improving it in time for the race and everything was going pretty well, all things considered, in the early stages. I'd passed a fair few people and was almost in the top 20 when the bike seized and I was lucky that Jamie Hodson didn't ram me from behind. I enjoy riding at Oulton and it's a great circuit but, for some reason, I don't seem to be able to string it all together for the lap and it was another hard weekend."
 
"Like I say, it's been a tough year and a steep learning curve but, when everything's gone right, I'd like to think I've shown people what I'm capable of with the top ten result at Snetterton being the obvious highlight. It's a really competitive class but I've learnt an awful lot, both on and off the bike, and am determined to come back stronger next year and put it all in to practice and be in the points consistently. Finally, thank you to all my sponsors for all their commitment and support this season ."
 
Picture by Glynne Lewis
 
Phil Wain
Freelance PR 

Shop4bikers would like to say a big thank you to Simon Low, Tom and the Dutch 2 UK Racing team for a great year of racing. Unfortunately due to bad luck and problems with the bike the results were not there. But we have enjoyed the year backing the Team and Simon, all the best for next year (2011).