Paul Bird Motorsport
| Paul Bird Motorsport | |
|---|---|
| File:PBM racing team logo.png | |
| 2016 name | Be Wiser Ducati[1] |
| Base | Penrith, Cumbria, England |
| Principal | Paul Bird |
| Rider(s) | 67 Shane Byrne Glenn Irwin |
| Motorcycle | Ducati Panigale R |
| Tyres | Pirelli |
| Riders' Championships | Shane Byrne x3 British Superbike 2003 British Superbike 2012 British Superbike 2014 |
Paul Bird Motorsport is a British motorcycle road racing and rallying organisation. The owner Paul Bird competed as a rally driver and was formerly a competitor in motocross.[2]
The team competes in the British Superbike Championship, using Ducati machinery for 2016,[1] a change of manuafacturer from Kawasaki. They managed the Kawasaki World Superbike team until 2011,[3] and competed in the 2012 MotoGP season with an ART-Aprilia bike entered to CRT regulations ridden by James Ellison.[4]
The team competed with riders Michael Laverty and Broc Parkes in the 2014 MotoGP season before disbanding to concentrate on British Superbikes.[5][6]
They also competed in the 2014 British Superbike Championship as a two-rider team with Shane Byrne and Stuart Easton on board Kawasakis.[7]
Also in 2014 Ian Hutchinson joined Paul Bird Motorsport for a few rounds of Pirelli National Superstock 1000 competition on the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki team, after which he again competed in the Macau road GP on Shane Byrne's superbike, but without his previous year's success, overshooting a corner and retiring after a low-speed fall.[8] The race was won by PBM rider Stuart Easton.
For 2015 Hutchinson competed in selected BSB rounds and Paul Bird's first foray into racing on closed public roads in UK, involving the North West 200 and the Ulster Grand Prix in Northern Ireland and also in the Isle of Man TT races, where he won three TT races and a TT Championship.[9][10][11][12]
On 16th October 2015 Paul Bird Motorsport announced their partnership with Be Wiser Insurance and that the BSB team for 2016 would consist of four-time BSB champion Shane Byrne and Glenn Irwin, riding Ducati Panigale Rs.[13]
In December 2015, Paul Bird received a ban from organised sport competitions until July 2017 administered by UKAD, after failing a standard test for banned substances, undertaken after driving in a car rally event in July 2015.[14][15]
Bird's son Frank will drive in Ford MSA Formula for Fortec Motorsport in 2016, after the 2015 season in Ginetta Junior Championship.[16]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 PBM News Retrieved 16 March 2016
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- ↑ Stuart Easton wins Macau GP MC News Retrieved 23 April 2015
- ↑ Hutchinson ready to fight for the TT crown in 2015 Bikesport News, 20 October 2014, Retrieved 23 April 2015
- ↑ 2015 Supersport TT Race 1 results Retrieved 29 September 2015
- ↑ 2015 Supersport TT Race 2 results Retrieved 29 September 2015
- ↑ 2015 Superstock TT race results Retrieved 29 September 2015
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Bird banned for 2 years after failing doping test Mail Online, 24 December 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2015
- ↑ Rally Driver Paul Bird Given Two Year Ban for Cocaine and Diuretics UK Anti-Doping, Retrieved 24 December 2015
- ↑ Frank Bird makes switch to Ford-powered MSA Formula PBM News, 19 Feb 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016
