Tommy Hill is a British motorcycle road racer, born 9 February 1985 in Lingfield, Surrey. His greatest success has come in the British Superbike Championship, but he has also contested the World Superbike and World Supersport championships.
Personal
Hill's early racing life included a near-fatal motocross accident in which he lost a kidney and his spleen. As a result, medical problems including a bout of food poisoning in 2006 have dogged his career. His brother Jimmy also races.
Starting Out
He switched to road racing in 2001, and first earned his BSB ride by winning the Virgin Mobile Yamaha R6 Cup in 2003, finishing every race in the process.
British Superbikes 2005-07
In his first BSB season he became the youngest rider ever to start a race on the front row of the grid, and he was the only one of the team's four 2004 riders to be retained for 2005 - team boss Rob McElnea commenting that "He really did prove himself beyond everyone’s expectations this year".
In 2005 he took 2 further front row starts, as well as his first BSB win at Cadwell Park, finishing 12th overall in the series.
For the 2006 British Superbike season he was the only Yamaha rider to retain his ride, leading a young team with Billy McConnell and Kieran Clarke. Tommy was also entered for the Superbike World Championship race at Silverstone as a wild card. In changeable qualifying conditions he stunned the experienced regulars by taking pole position, and then finished both races in the lower reaches of the points.
In 2007, Tommy was joined in the Virgin Yamaha squad by James Haydon, who returned to the team for whom he raced in 2001 and 2004. From 12th on the grid in damp conditions he briefly lead the second race of round 4 at Oulton Park, but ultimately faded to 7th, the Yamaha failing to match other bikes on performance.
He also made a handful of World Supersport rides on an SSP Yamaha alongside his 2007 BSB commitments
World Supersport 2008
For 2008 Hill switched to the series full time, with the Hannspree Altea Honda team . On his very first test he crashed, breaking his femur, ankle and hand, causing him to miss the first five rounds of the season. . Tommy returned at the Nürburgring, qualifying in 9th place . But in the race he was involved in an incident at turn one where wildcard rider Arne Tode caused a massive pile-up, and as a result Hill rebroke his femur, putting him out for the rest of the season.
World Superbikes & Return To British Superbikes 2009
The Althea team kept faith in him for 2009, signing him to be their sole World Superbike rider, owning to his BSB experience. However he was uncompetitive, and lost the ride midseason to young Frenchman Matthieu Lagrive. He joined Worx Crescent Suzuki as a replacement for the injured Sylvain Guintoli from the Mallory Park round, qualifying 2nd. He was competitive in race 1 despite the electronic engine management system failing before the start, until chaos and controversy struck. He was running second when Josh Brookes lost control of his bike and catapulted race leader Simon Andrews, dropping oil from Brookes' Honda. Hill was one of five other riders who either crashed or downed their bikes to avoid crashing. The red flag was shown, but these seven riders were excluded from the results, due to an unexpected application of the rules. Brookes received a two-meeting ban for his mistake. Hill kept the ride for the next meeting at Brands Hatch on a three race weekend. Tommy rode well at Brands Hatch but after the meeting it was confirmed that Sylvain Guintoli would return to the Worx Suzuki team for the remainder of the season. After missing the Cadwell Park round Tommy returned to BSB for the Hydrex Honda team,taking the seat from Karl Harris after he was sacked. Tommy adapted quickly to the Hydrex Honda, gaining 7th and 6th place finishes in his first outing at Croft and two fifths at Silverstone.
Career Stats
* Stats Correct as of 2 October 2009
References
- ^ http://londonbikers.com/articles/6552faed-ed8a-4781-a37f-c6b6d866bbe2
- ^ http://www.f1network.net/main/s180/st80806.htm
- ^ http://www.crash.net/motorsport/wsbk/feature/12139-0/qa_tommy_hill_-_exclusive.html
- ^ http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresults/mcn/2007/november/nov12-18/nov1407worldsupersporttommyhillsignsforhonda/
- ^ a b http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresults/videos/2008/february/feb0708hillinterviewatmcn/?&R=EPI-98464
- ^ http://www.thisiscourier.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=142736&command=displayContent&sourceNode=252025&contentPK=19718850&folderPk=115993&pNodeId=252035
- ^ http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresults/mcn/2008/june/9-15/jun1408nurburgring-world-supersport-free-two/
- ^ http://www.bikesportnews.com/articles/article.html?id=TOMMY_HILL_RETURNS_HOME_AFTER_SURGERY_1
- ^ http://www.visordown.com/motorcyclenews/view/wsb_tommy_hill_signs_with_honda_for_2009_/5552.html
- ^ http://www.hondaracing-eu.com/?championship=sbk§ion=teams&team=honda_althea_sbk&rider=matthieu_lagrive
- ^ http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-racing-news-bsb/bsb-tommy-hill-to-ride-worx-suzuki-at-mallory/7464.html
- ^ http://www.crash.net/British+Superbikes/comments/150044/1/a/brookes_receives_two_race_ban.html
- ^ http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-racing-news-bsb/guintoli-back-for-cadwell-park/7867.html
- ^ http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresults/British-Superbikes/2009/September/sep0609-Hill-confirmed-for-Hydrex-Honda/?R=EPI-118242
- ^ http://www.bikesportnews.com/articles/article.html?id=KARL_HARRIS_SACKED_BY_HYDREX_HONDA_1&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=rss
- ^ http://www.britishsuperbikenews.co.uk/tommy-hill-retains-worx-suzuki-ride-for-brands-hatch/483
- ^ http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-racing-news-bsb/hill-snapped-up-by-hydrex-honda/8015.html
- ^ http://www.bikesportnews.com/articles/article.html?id=HILL_MOVES_UP_TO_WORLD_SUPERBIKES_IN_2009_1
- ^ http://www.bikesportnews.com/articles/article.html?id=TOMMY_HILL_RETURNS_HOME_AFTER_SURGERY_1
- ^ http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/global/race/2007season-review/wsb-wss/0006.html
- ^ http://www.f1network.net/main/s180/st97514.htm
- ^ http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-racing/world-superbike/brands-hatch-2006.htm
- ^ http://website.lineone.net/~mouser/motorsport/2005/british-superbike/british-superbikes.htm
External links
- Rider profile
- World Superbike ride
Tommy Hill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Official website of Tommy Hill, Superbike rider
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