Celebratory logos...

To celebrate Leon's fantastic display on Motors TV last night, I decided to design a couple of quick logos to (hopefully) sum up Leon's future. I decided to do it in the colours of the number boards on the R6, but then I suppose you've already worked that one out! I reckon they'd look great on t-shirts too.

I'll stick some footage up very soon...



(All other double 'S' word suggestions welcomed)

Great visor reflection...

Check out this shot that Tracey found...a rare good photo of me! If you look closely in the visor reflection you can see that that I'm closely following another bike. I'm guessing it was Mark. It's probably the best shot of me I've ever seen - the bike looks awesome! I don't know who the photographer is, but whoever you are, I salute you...


(One to show the grandchildren)

BSN Thundersport GB write-up...

Leon's in BikeSport News again! The latest edition has a good article about Round One of the Thundersport GB Championship at Mallory Park. It talks about the excitement in the Superstock 600 class. Here is what it says:

'The Metzeler Superstock 600 Championship was also a new addition to this year's programme and was a close-fought affair from start-to-finish.

John Simpson, on his Trickbits Yamaha, had a fight on his hands from last year's Junior Powerbike front-runner Leon Jeacock.

The 18 lap encounter went the way of Simpson as he finished half a second ahead of Jeacock, who in turn had to fight off the challenges from Dean Brown (Kawasaki) and Daniel Miles (Yamaha).

Simpson missed race two with a faulty clutch, leaving Jeacock, on his BMC Racing Yamaha, to take the win, finishing nearly four seconds clear of the talented Ricky Simmonds, who beat his friend and rival Miles.

Jeacock, Simpson and Brown had a three-way battle in the final 12 lap race.

A delighted Brown ran out the winner, finishing just ahead in a photo-finish Simpson and Jeacock, which went Simpson's way, with just two tenths of a second covering the top three.'

I guess it sums up what happened, always good to get a mention...




(Leon's victory in black and white!)

Leon at first Thundersport GB

The weekend of 13th - 15th March saw the Thundersport GB Championships get underway at Mallory Park. Leon and co were there for the three day event and was competing in the Superstock 600 category on his BMC Yamaha. Friday consisted of two qualifying sessions to determine grid positions for the 18-lap Superpole race on Saturday. Leon was running on old tyres to keep costs down, but still managed some blistering pace good enough to stick his R6 on the front of row two. A great start to the weekend!

Saturday was sunny but windy, which got stronger later on in the day for the Superpole race. This race is used to determine the grid positions for the two 12-lap races on the Sunday. So how did Leon get on? Well, with a new rear tyre, Leon got well an truly stuck in. Making his trademark lightening start he quickly found himself up to 2nd place - which he held right to the end. Which set him up nicely for the Sunday races.

Sunday was again sunny, but thankfully not as windy. And starting from the front row, Leon was in determined mood. Race one saw Leon take the initiative and lead the race early on. He only briefly dropped to 2nd until regaining the lead, which he held right to the end to take an amazing victory. And running with some minor suspension problems too! A marvellous ride. Race two was a slightly different matter for Leon who started cautiously due to the suspension changes. He found himself in 3rd place having dropped away from the leaders, but as you'd expect, Leon quickly adapted to the new settings and gave chase - and soon found himself in a three-way battle at the front with Dean Brown and John Simpson. This time Leon had problems with his front end which was stepping out on him at times. This didn't deter Leon, who held on very closely to the leaders right to the end to finish third. It was an amazing and exciting race that ended with all three crossing the line within a fraction of a second of each other. You really could have thrown a blanket over them all.

I think you'll agree that it was a triumphant weekend indeed, with Leon now taking an early lead in the championship too. Very well done! I'm just sorry that I missed it...oh and it was televised and can be seen on Monday (30th March) on Motors TV at 7 o'clock...don't miss it, I know I won't this time!


(Leon on his way to victory in race one)


(Leon with a fight on his hands)


(More pots to clean)

BSN EMRA Round 1 write-up...

Last weeks edition of BikeSport News had a great write-up about Leon's various successes. This is what was written:

'Pushing Bradshaw all the way in the Buildbase Mallory Trophy final to be just 0.4 of a second behind at the finish was the first of the 600s home in that event in the hands of Leon Jeacock (BMC Yamaha), who was another who enjoyed an excellent start to his season.

Last year Jeacock won the EMRA Formula 400 and Superstock 600 titles, and the talented 20-year-old from nearby Nuneaton showed he is a serious contender to both retain his Superstock title and also capture the Formula 600 crown after constantly battling wheel-to-wheel with another double EMRA Club champion of 2008, Steve Tomes.

On-board the Hornsey Steels-entered Kestrel Honda that was his prize for winning last year's EMRA F600 Championship, it was Tomes who took the victory in the thrice-started opening Superstock engagement from Jeacock, who then immediately avenged that defeat in the next race on track by beating Tomes in the opening F600 contest.'

Marvellous!

(written by Steve Gough)

EMRA Rd1 - Start of the new season...

So, here we are, the start of the new racing season. And last weekends EMRA action was a terrific day out for the BMC racing team. Let's begin with qualifying...Leon was in three events - SS600, F600 and the Buildbase Mallory Trophy. In the SS600 Leon carried on where he left off last season by sticking it on pole, in the F600's he brilliantly stuck it at the front of row two and to top that off he made the front row in the Mallory Trophy event. Amazing! In the 400's we were mixed up with the Earlystocks, so it was a little crowded. But there was another pole position for a BMC rider - I know you're all thinking it was me, but no, it was Mike! He rode a superb qualifying session to top the board ahead of the likes of Mark Hornsey and Richard Saunders. Well done Mike! I found myself on row four alongside new team-mate Mark James, who had qualified with an identical lap time to mine. And it was his first ever race day! Very well done Mark, a terrific qualifying session.




(BMC Racing top the qualifying charts!)

And so to the racing...let's start with the SS600 - Race one had a few incidents which resulted in a restart run over 4 laps. So this was going to be a bit of a sprint. Leon got away well, but soon found himself in a tussle for the lead with veteran racer Steve Tomes. It was a great spectacle with Leon finishing a very close second. Race two was without incidents and managed to run the full ten laps. And it was pretty much a carbon copy of race one with Leon and Steve fighting it out at the front. This time it was even closer at the end with Leon finishing less than a second behind Steve over the line - and Leon got the fastest lap of the race with an incredible time of 55.274. An amazing two rides from Leon which show just how quickly he has improved over the last year.

The F600 races were again the Leon Jeacock versus Steve Tomes show, and race one was the best of them all. Leon made his usual great start (bearing in mind he was on row two of the grid) and by the time they reached 'Edwinas' for the first time it was clear it was going to be between those two riders. Leon was hot on Steve's heels for the first few laps until he pulled a terrific move coming down the 'Devils Elbow' to take the lead. Leon then very much stood his ground for the rest of the race (which got red flagged on lap nine) and took an amazing victory by more than a second. This is a truely awesome win for Leon who just seems to be going from strength to strength. Race two was equally as exciting, again with Leon and Steve fighting it out for the lead. This time Steve came out on top (by less than a second) and whets our appetite for the rest of the season.


(Leon on his way to an incredible victory over Steve Tomes!)


(Four more trophies for the cabinet)

The Buidbase Mallory Trophy saw Leon up against the likes of Mark Littler, Paul Curran and Pete Bradshaw on their 1000cc machines. So this was always going to be tough. But, as expected, Leon got well and truly stuck in to both races. Race one was a six lap sprint, Leon flew off the line and kept in touch with the leaders for the whole race. He finished an excellent 5th place in amongst the bigger bikes and was the leading 600 rider. Race two saw Leon pushing even harder over the ten lap race. He found himself in an exciting fight for third place with Pete Bradshaw, with Pete just pipping Leon by less than half of a second over the line. Well done leon, it was truly a fantastic display and should, in my opinion, have earned you 'Rider of The Day'. But there you go!

And so to the F400s and Earlystocks. Mike made a great start from pole in race one, but soon found himself in a three way fight at the front. He came a close third place just behind mark Hornsey but got the fastest lap of the race with a time of 59.090 - a lap time in the 58's seems to be just a matter of time now. I rode a steady race finishing 17th (13th in class) and was happy that I'd done a lap time in the 1.03's. Mark had a great debut, he got away well and found himself catching me towards the end of the race. A slight mishap coming out of the 'Bus Stop' resulted in him taking a slight detour through the cat litter down the 'Devils Elbow'. But he managed to keep the bike upright and brought it home in a respectable 21st (15th in class). Not bad at all for a first outing. Race two was a little more exciting, as we started our warm-up lap I noticed that Mike was stationary on the grid with some sort of problem. It was a loose fuel line that Mike quickly sorted, but unfortunately had to start from pit-lane. The rest of us got away well, I found myself mid-pack going reasonably well until Mark came flying past me heading down the Stebbe straight. I then tucked in behind him and just as we were heading up into the hairpin I was aware of some fast moving missile on the outside. It was Mike on a mission! He came round the outside of myself, Mark and another unsuspecting rider just as we were tipping in. It was a fantastic move, some very brave late braking full of commitment and focus. It didn't take long for him to disappear off in to the distance as he hunted down the leading pack. He eventually finished in a superb 5th place which just shows how well he rode. All the new lighweight trick bits that Mike, Rod and the gang have developed really seem to have made a huge improvement.

The funny thing was, Mark thought that it was me who had overtaken him back again, and tried his hardest to keep up with me. It wasn't until after the race that he realised it was Mike. I had been following Mark for the whole race trying my best to keep with him round Gerrards (man I need to sort my head out round there) but was happy with how I rode. And it's great to have someone at a similar speed to have some fun with. I finished 17th (13th in class) just behind Mark who had a great race and fantastic debut. I'm sure he'll quickly improve and I'll do well to keep up in the future. He also went well in the novice race sticking an awesome overtaking manoeuvre on Elliot Stevens through the 'Esses' - well done Mark, you should be very proud of yourself.

So, not a bad day out at all. The weather stayed dry, there was lots to shout about and everyone stayed upright. I can't wait til we do it all again in round two!

I had a minor camcorder malfunction, but have managed to put together a small film montage to celebrate Leon's amazing F600 victory. I hope you enjoy it...



(Mike carves through the pack in race two)


(Mark looking very smooth on his debut)


(I really need to work on my lean angle!)


(Mike and Thomas with the well fought 3rd place trophy)










(The first shout out of the season to the sponsors!)