Flexicon sponsors british MotoGP team
1 min read
UK manufacturer Flexicon is reinforcing its Best of British stance with sponsorship of the only British motor bike team in the MotoGP World Championship, Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM). The flexible conduit manufacturer will also be sponsoring PBM's British Superbike Championship team.
Flexicon's managing director Duncan McKinlay commented: "We are big advocates of British engineering and believe that we are the equal of any country. British manufacturers have always put quality at the heart of any production process and we have learnt to become more efficient and competitive in the world economy over time, with technical and engineering excellence.
"I believe that there are obvious parallels with this and sport, which is why we have chosen to sponsor Britain's only MotoGP team to help showcase our country's engineering on the world stage with PBM."
The sponsorship will cover two teams with two riders participating in each team. Ulsterman Michael Laverty will continue for a second year in MotoGP where he will be joined by Australian Broc Parkes on board the team's PBM Aprilias. In the British Superbike Championship, triple champion Shane 'Shakey' Byrne will be joined by reigning British Supersport champion Stuart Easton on the Kawaski ZX-10Rs. All four bikes will run in the traditional British Racing Green livery.
Paul Bird, team owner, said: "We are delighted to welcome Flexicon as a sponsor of our two teams and believe that we can help prove the worth of a British based team on both the world stage and also closer to home in our own championships.
"I've finally got the four riders that I wanted in the two championships that I wanted to race in. We've done a lot of spadework in MotoGP over the past two seasons, so the plan is to build on that.
"As for BSB it really hurt us losing our crown to Honda, so Shakey's back to try and reclaim it and Stuart needed a year away from BSB and is now back in the big time with us."
The opening round of the MotoGP World Championship takes place at Qatar on 23rd March with round one of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship taking place at Brands Hatch on 21st April. The team's progress in both championships will be reported on the company's website.
Pictured at the launch of the Paul Bird Motorsport BSB team are riders Stuart Easton (kneeling) and Shane 'Shakey' Byrne (right) with team co-ordinator Stuart Bland.
