GBmoto field Quigley and Palmer in BSB

Luke Quigley joins Tristan Palmer in the GBmoto Honda BSB team for this year.  Both are very respected superstock racers and could become the new breed of superbike star – their careers regenerated by the 2012 BSB regulations that will curb horsepower and ban the majority of electronic rider aids to produce bikes that demand a lot more throttle control and smart tyre conservation.

Those are the attributes required to race superstock. The new BSB rules will give them more power, better brakes and sharper handling but they’ll be relied on to maximise their own rider skills honed on stockers.

At least that’s what they both hope. And GBmoto boss Mark Smith-Halvorsen obviously believes so because they are the two riders he’s signed to ride his garish purple and white Hondas this year.

Quigley had been set to join a BMW-based superstock team and had other options – until the BSB offer with GBmoto came his way. He told MCN: “It’s good to feel wanted. You get nervous preparing to race 100% but this winter, wow, has brought a different kind of pressure with the interest from different teams.

“Mark came with an offer to ride in BSB and it’s where I want to be. Every rider wants to be on the best bike, in the best team in the best possible championship against the best riders.”

“Mark’s going all out to prove a point. He doesn’t just want to be another team in the paddock. He wants to be right up there and, being in a competitive team that wants to win, helps a rider’s confidence.”

This year is Palmer’s second with GBmoto, having raced in superstock last year. He said: “Our superbike will be good but I also think the rules with suit us much better. I’ve been on a good superbike before but never with the right people looking after the electronics side. I‘m really confident we will have a bike that is capable of running up front.”

Full story in MCN today (Wednesday, January 11).