While we were perusing the new Teknic one-piece leathers at the NEC we spied James Ellison doing the same thing. Asking how things were, we discovered that he's sorted a ride in the AMA superbike championship on a Honda Fireblade. "I did a bit of research on the team and asked around and it sounds really good. It's the same Ohlins suspension as I've used this season, it'll be the same Ohlins tech that I worked with this year too, plus we're getting good spec Dunlop tyres, so I'm really looking forward to it. My first ride on the bike is at Barber Motorsport in Alabama in a couple of weeks and then the Daytona tyre test a couple of weeks after that."
Ellison had other opportunities and offers – principally in the world superbike paddock – but didn't fancy any of them. "The thing is that you get a lot of calls from teams asking if you are interested in riding their bikes, but they expect you to bring a load of cash with you. Well, I've got some sponsorship, but why should I put money into a team when the bike probably won't be competitive? So I decided to head to the AMA."
And good luck to him.