The five-strong Ice Valley by Motorsave Trade team have arrived on the Isle of Man with high hopes of building upon their recent North West 200 success and keen to further their considerable presence on the results sheets. The team, a healthy mix of the experienced and the new, will be led by team boss Paul Shoesmith with regular campaigners Ben Wylie and Sandor Bitter joined by newcomers to the Mountain Course, Peter Hickman and Laurent Hoffmann.
With the exception of the absent Bitter, all of the riders shone at last week’s North West 200 with Hickman and Hoffmann particularly impressive on their course debut. Lincolnshire’s Hickman took a superb finish of ninth in Thursday’s Superstock race and followed this up with three more top twenty finishes including 13th in the feature Superbike race along with a personal best lap of 118.589mph.
Belgian rider Hoffmann, meanwhile, took a brace of 17th’s in Saturday’s Superstock and Superbike races, with a best lap of 115.624mph whilst Shoesmith also enjoyed a profitable week with the highlight being a pair of ninths in the two Supertwin races. He also took three top twenty finishes on his BMW S1000RR and, with Wylie also taking 20th in the Superbike race the team ended the week with a hugely impressive haul of 12 finishes inside the top twenty
However, the meeting was marred by two accidents, the first of which left French team member Franck Petricola with serious injuries and the second which tragically claimed the life of Simon Andrews. The Evesham rider had been an integral part of the Ice Valley Racing team with his achievements including the best newcomer at the 2011 TT, where he claimed a brace of 11th place finishes, and a stunning third place at the 2012 Macau Grand Prix.
Speaking about the NW200 and the TT, Shoesmith said: “We’ve obviously arrived on the Isle of Man with mixed emotions, the terrible loss of Simon and injuries to Franck hitting us hard. Simon played a huge part in the team getting where it is today and as well as being a superb rider, he was a superb person so our thoughts are very much with all his family and friends. The injuries to Franck were the worst possible way for our road racing season to start but fortunately, the signs are positive and he’s back home in France now where he’s on the road to recovery."
“On the results side, the North West went very well indeed. From my own perspective, I was really pleased with the two top ten finishes in the Supertwin races although I’ve a bit of work to do with the suspension on the BMW as it was a bit lively along the high speed straights. The other boys did great jobs and Peter and Laurent’s results were fantastic, something I was confident they’d both do. Peter’s BSB pedigree speaks for itself whilst Laurent really showed what he could do on a 1000cc bike. I’m confident they’ll both put on similar performances here at the TT and with Ben, Sandor and myself, everything is in place for us to have a great two week’s so let’s hope that’s the case and it’s a safe, successful fortnight for all concerned.”
Photo - Peter Hickman in action at Black Hill during the North West 200. Courtesy of Jon Jessop Photography.
