| Sam's Race Calendar | Sam started racing 60cc Motocross at the age of eight steadily working his way up the youth motocross rankings and at the age of 12 was contesting the national championships in the 100cc class. In that time he became a consistent top 10 finisher and won many club championships. His winning ways continued throughout the 125cc class and he graduated to the Under-21 national championships under the Husky Sport banner at the age of just 17. SR Off-Road offered him a ride on a thumping Husaberg 470cc 4-stroke for the 2001 season at 19. Contesting the AMCA 4-stroke championship he won it with ease, winning 15 out of 18 races. With more than 10 years of competitive motocross under his belt the next challenge was the 2003 British Motocross Championship. However, a dislocated shoulder at the pre-season Hawkstone International ended the season before it had started. Coming back from injury, Sam decided for a change of scenery opting to contest a local Supermoto race, which ended in Sam winning his class first time out. He went from strength to strength in the British and World Supermoto field riding for Husaberg then Aprilia UK, highlights being 2nd in British S2 Championship, 11th in World S1 Championship during 2005. And becoming both S1 and MotoGB British Champion during the 2006 season. His title defence during 2007 was severely hampered due to lack of vital funds meaning he was only able to compete at World level a few times and struggled to put a consistent season together at British races. Multiple race wins, overalls, fastest laps and pole positions softened the blow of losing his titles. Throughout Sam's successful Supermoto career, he has been renowned for having a silky smooth style and huge determination that set him apart from other riders. Often it's been said he should try his hand at Road Racing. And so, on to a new chapter in Sam's career At the start of the 2008 season, the planned swap to road racing for Sam was not without its hiccups. Having to gain 10 top 10 finishes in club events around the country to be eligible for a National Road Race License so he could race at BSB, Sam had a busy start to the year. Using a standard R6, and with help of his mentor at the time (Dean Thomas), Sam got the results needed to get the license only a couple of weeks before the start of the BSB calendar! The Henderson Yamaha R1 Cup 2008 Series supported the premier race series in the UK in BSB, Sam's first venture into big time Road Racing. A fantastic win at Oulton Park in his second race showed he was right on the pace. Following that success he was also offered a ride in the 1000 Superstock series with GR Motosport on board a Yamaha R1 with the backing of SSangYong Cars. A second in the R1 Cup at Snetterton plus 3 further podiums gave Sam a remarkable 3rd place in the final standings. Seven points scoring rides in the Superstock also gave Sam a great return in his rookie season. Superstock 1000 was the target for 2009 Sam Started at round 2 at Oulton Park after Midland Skip Hire came in to support his ride at GR Motorsport. By the third meeting at Thruxton Sam had caught up on missed development time and came home 6th. The next meeting at Knockhill saw Sam with a new team in SkipShop.com with Hondas. A very encouraging 7th from Cadwell Park soon followed and he finished well with 5th at Silverstone after qualifying just 0.376 seconds off pole. At the final meeting at Brands Hatch another fifth place finish and 11th in the final table only highlighted what might have been had he had everything in place at the start of the season. The team was now called Midland Motorsport for 2010 but it was the same team and Hondas as last season. The opener at Brands started great with 2nd spot on the grid after qualifying, a promising race ended with a spill. Good results to follow at Thruxton and Oulton. The Silverstone MotoGP race was a particularly good weekend for Sam gaining pole position in the treacherous conditions and going on to get a 4th place in the second race behind Brookes, Rutter and Kirkham (Brookes and Rutter wildcarding for the event). A damaged bike from Knockhill meant missing the next 2 rounds. A late season switch to a BMW was the key to ending the season on a high. Having struggled initially to set-up the BMW, Sam found some good settings for the second visit to Silverstone by getting on the front row, but was bitterly disappointed to have the race cancelled late on Sunday due to bad weather. A premature end to the annual Stars of Darley race in Oct due to bad weather also frustrated the team, due to the fact that Sam had qualified on pole ahead of Josh Brooks on the full BSB bike! So onto the final round of the year at Oulton park and Sam finally got the result he so badly wanted, a podium finish in 3rd place! 2011 promises to be an exciting year. |
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