by Steven Roe
The Autosport show held at the NEC in Birmingham is normally dedicated to cars, however this year Swan Yamaha chose to unveil their 2012 British Superbike.
The unveiling took place on the Maxxis stand, as they will be one of the teams main sponsors for 2012. Tommy Hill and Ian Hutchinson were on hand to reveal the new Yamaha R1 race bike and Swan Yamaha used the event to promote their Superstock rider Wesley Pearce who they want to progress to the British supersport in 2013.
Chis Walker, a Maxxis ambassador, was also on the the stand promoting the Chris Walker Riding school, based in Leicestershire. It teaches riders the techniques of handling, positioning and gearing.
Derek McMartin, Managing Director of Maxxis, said: “We are committed to supporting motorsport on two wheels and four. It’s a real pleasure to be able to give visitors to the show an opportunity to meet some of the major names from the biking world.”
British company Mac Motorcycles unveiled their new prototype on the Birchill’s Automotive stand. The company are to produce four models: Spud, Pea shooter, Ruby and Roarer all of which will be available to purchase later in 2012.
The Spud prototype was on display and Mac Motorcycles were using the show as an opportunity to gather feedback courtesy of Birchills Automotive who have produced the Spud’s exhaust system.
Unlike previous years a few manufactures took the opportunity to show off their race bikes. John Hopkins Cresent Suzuki and Bautista’s Rizla Suzuki were also on display as well as Glen Richard’s Evo winning WFR Honda Firebalde, situated on the MSV stand alongside the Buildbase BMW of Barry Burell.
