Tommy Hill

For other people named Thomas, Tom or Tommy Hill, see Thomas Hill (disambiguation).
Tommy Hill

Hill as the new British Superbike Champion for 2011
Nationality English
Born (1985-02-09) 9 February 1985
Beckenham, Kent
Current team as Manager, ePayMe THM Yamaha
Website tommyracer.com
Motorcycle racing career statistics
British Superbike Championship
Active years2004-2006, 2009-2011
Championships1 ( 2011 )
2011 championship position1st
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
181 19 51 14 11 987

Tommy Hill is a former British motorcycle road racer, born 9 February 1985 in Beckenham, Kent. His greatest success was becoming the British Superbike Champion for 2011.[1] He also competed in the World Superbike and World Supersport championships.

Hill quit motorcycle racing at the end of 2012, instead working as a self-employed graphic designer,[2] but announced in late 2014 that he would be running a British Superbike team during 2015.[3]

After several months of his first season as a team manager with Be Wiser Kawasaki, Hill left in August 2015,[4] and the team folded in September.[5] Hill announced in October 2015 that he would be running his own team named THM – Tommy Hill Motorsport – for 2016 with Yamaha R1 machines,[6][7] backed by ePayMe, with riders John Hopkins and Stuart Easton.

Personal

Hill's early racing life included a near-fatal motocross accident in which he lost a kidney and his spleen.[8] As a result, medical problems including a bout of food poisoning in 2006 have dogged his career, and require him to take Penicillin every day. His brother Jimmy also raced.

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 2004–07

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,[9] 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. Hill 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. He finished the BSB season eighth overall[10]

In 2007, Hill 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 led 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 [11]

World Supersport 2008

For 2008 Hill switched to the series full-time, with the Hannspree Altea Honda team.[12] On his very first test he crashed, breaking his femur, ankle and hand, causing him to miss the first five rounds of the season.[13] [14] Hill returned at the Nürburgring, qualifying in 9th place.[15] 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.[16]

World Superbikes and return to British Superbikes 2009 –

The Althea team kept faith in him for 2009, signing him to be their sole World Superbike rider, owing to his BSB experience.[17] However he was uncompetitive, and lost the ride midseason to young Frenchman Matthieu Lagrive.[18]

He joined Worx Crescent Suzuki as a replacement for the injured Sylvain Guintoli from the Mallory Park round,[19] 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 omitted from the results, as they were not running at the time of the red flag. Brookes received a two-meeting ban for his mistake.[20] Hill kept the ride for the next meeting at Brands Hatch on a three race weekend. Hill 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.[21] After missing the Cadwell Park round Hill returned to BSB for the Hydrex Honda team,[22] taking the seat from Karl Harris after he was sacked.[23] Hill adapted quickly to the Hydrex Honda, gaining 7th and 6th place finishes in his first outing at Croft, two fifths at Silverstone, and podium places at Oulton Park.

For 2010 Hill joined Worx Crescent Suzuki full-time, alongside former World Superbike race winner Yukio Kagayama.[24] He took victory in the season opener at Brands Hatch, before finishing second to James Ellison in race two.[25] He led the championship by 36 points at one stage.[26] Poorer meetings at Cadwell Park and Knockhill eroded his championship lead,[27] but regained it with three podiums at Snetterton.[28] Hill was one of the central subjects of the film I, Superbiker, which recorded his 2010 British Superbike Championship season.

On 10 November 2010 Hill signed to Swan Yamaha full-time, alongside Supersport champion Michael Laverty.[29] He came second in the opening race at Brands Hatch Indy and took victory in the second race. This gave him lead in the championship. At Oulton Park, the weekend after, he got pole position in qualifying and topped the time sheet. However during the warm-up session, Loris Baz crashed moments before, leaving fluid on the track, this caused Hill to fall and sustain an injury to the left shoulder.[30] Later an update said that Hill's injuries would rule him out of the races ahead.,[31] However Hill was back at Croft Circuit in May. He made history at Knockhill Racing Circuit by taking his first double win in the championship and putting him back on top form to fight for the championship title.[32]

Career statistics

Stats correct as of 23 September 2012

All Time

Series Years Active Races Poles Podiums Wins 2nd place 3rd place Fast Laps Titles
British Superbike Championship 2004–05, 2009− 181 20 51 19 22 10 11 1
Superbike World Championship 2006, 2009 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
World Supersport Championship 2007–08 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 202 21 51 19 22 10 11 1

By championship

British Superbike Championship

Year Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Pts Ref
R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2
2004 Yamaha SIL
14		 SIL
10		 BHI
9		 BHI
10		 SNE
8		 SNE
10		 OUL
9		 OUL
14		 MON
Ret		 MON
Ret		 THR
9		 THR
6		 BHGP
7		 BHGP
8		 KNO
Ret 		KNO
Ret		 MAL
Ret		 MAL
6		 CRO
9		 CRO
Ret		 CAD
5		 CAD
Ret		 OUL
9		 OUL
10		 DON
10		 DON
14		 9th 137
2005 Yamaha BHI
10		 BHI
12		 THR
10		 THR
Ret		 MAL MAL OUL OUL MON
Ret		 MON
14		 CRO
16		 CRO
Ret		 KNO
15 		KNO
12		 SNE
10		 SNE
7		 SIL
8		 SIL
10		 CAD
1		 CAD
4		 OUL
7		 OUL
6		 DON
8		 DON
Ret		 BHGP
Ret		 BHGP
9		 12th 123 [33]
2006 Yamaha BHI
Ret		 BHI
6		 DON
Ret		 DON
6		 THR
8		 THR
9		 OUL
7		 OUL
8		 MON
C		 MON
C		 MAL
12		 MAL
11		 SNE
6		 SNE
3		 KNO
8 		KNO
4		 OUL
Ret		 OUL
6		 CRO
7		 CRO
Ret		 CAD
5		 CAD
4		 SIL
6		 SIL
Ret		 BHGP
4		 BHGP
Ret		 8th 187
2007 Yamaha BHGP
9		 BHGP
Ret		 THR
8		 THR
10		 SIL
8		 SIL
8		 OUL
10		 OUL
7		 SNE
7		 SNE
7		 MON
10		 MON
9		 KNO
13 		KNO
Ret		 OUL
8		 OUL
Ret		 MAL
7		 MAL
9		 CRO
10		 CRO
Ret		 CAD
6		 CAD
7		 DON
Ret		 DON
Ret		 BHI
Ret		 BHI
13		 10th 138
2009 Suzuki BHI BHI OUL OUL DON DON THR THR SNE SNE KNO KNO MAL
Ret		 MAL
8		 BHGP
4		 BHGP
5		 BHGP
7		 CAD CAD 11th 127 [34]
Honda CRO
7		 CRO
6		 SIL
5		 SIL
5		 OUL
3		 OUL
4		 OUL
2
2010 Suzuki BHI
1		 BHI
2		 THR
1		 THR
2		 OUL
2		 OUL
3		 CAD
Ret		 CAD
2		 MAL
Ret		 MAL
8		 KNO
8		 KNO
C		 SNE
3		 SNE
2		 SNE
2		 BHGP
15		 BHGP
6		 BHGP
4		 CAD
1		 CAD
2		 CRO
1		 CRO
2		 SIL
8		 SIL
5		 OUL
2		 OUL
Ret		 OUL
5		 3rd 6201 [35]
2011 Yamaha BHI
2		 BHI
1		 OUL
DNS		 OUL
DNS		 CRO
14		 CRO
6		 THR
26		 THR
4		 KNO
1		 KNO
1		 SNE
2		 SNE
Ret		 OUL
1		 OUL
C		 BHGP
19		 BHGP
2		 BHGP
1		 CAD
2		 CAD
1		 CAD
1		 DON
3		 DON
2		 SIL
3		 SIL
2		 BHGP
4		 BHGP
4		 BHGP
2		 1st 6471 [36]
2012 Yamaha BHI
Ret		 BHI
C		 THR
2		 THR
2		 OUL
1		 OUL
4		 OUL
2		 SNE
1		 SNE
Ret		 KNO
2		 KNO
3		 OUL
1		 OUL
1		 OUL
1		 BHGP
3		 BHGP
3		 CAD
1		 CAD
1		 DON
2		 DON
3		 ASS
Ret		 ASS
4		 SIL
7		 SIL
7		 BHGP
2		 BHGP
6		 BHGP
3		 3rd 6121 [37]
Notes
1.^ – Hill qualified for "The Showdown" part of the BSB season, thus before the 11th round he was awarded 500 points plus the podium credits he had gained throughout the season. Podium credits are given to anyone finishing 1st, 2nd or 3rd, with 3,2 and 1 points awarded respectively.

Superbike World Championship

Year Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Pts Ref
R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2
2006 Yamaha QAT QAT AUS AUS ESP ESP ITA ITA EUR
12		 EUR
12		 SMR SMR CZE CZE GBR
11		 GBR
Ret		 NED NED GER GER ITA ITA FRA FRA 23rd 13 [38][39]
2009 Honda AUS
14		 AUS
14		 QAT
15		 QAT
Ret		 SPA
15		 SPA
22		 NED
Ret		 NED
Ret		 ITA
20		 ITA
16		 RSA
Ret		 RSA
17		 USA USA SMR SMR GBR GBR CZE CZE GER GER ITA ITA FRA FRA POR POR 30th 6 [40]

Supersport World Championship

Year Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Pts Ref
2007 Yamaha QAT AUS EUR ESP NED ITA GBR SMR CZE GBR
5		 GER
5		 ITA
Ret		 FRA
5		 22nd 33 [41]
2008 Honda QAT AUS ESP NED ITA GER
Ret		 SMR CZE GBR EUR ITA FRA POR NC 0 [42]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.crash.net/british+superbikes/race+report/173834/1/tommy_hill_wins_2011_bsb_title_by_0006secs.html
  2. ↑ Tonny Hill Imagedezign Retrieved 10 November 2014
  3. ↑ Bennetts, October 2014 Retrieved 10 November 2014
  4. ↑ Hill leaves Be Wiser Kawasaki after ‘differing ideas’ Bike Sport News, 25 August 2015, Retrieved 11 October 2015
  5. ↑ Be Wiser Kawasaki withdraw from BSB Motor Cycle News, 28 August 2015, Retrieved 11 October 2015
  6. ↑ Hill back with new team in 2016 Kent Sports News, 2 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015
  7. ↑ Champion Hill announces ambitious new THM ePayMe Yamaha team for 2016 British Superbike.com Retrieved 11 October 2015
  8. ↑ http://londonbikers.com/articles/6552faed-ed8a-4781-a37f-c6b6d866bbe2
  9. ↑ Motorcycle Racing Online – Tommy Hill and Leon Haslam win at Cadwell Park BSB
  10. ↑ There's Nothing Virgin About Tommy Hill
  11. ↑ Q&A: Tommy Hill – EXCLUSIVE | WSBK Interview | Oct 2007 | Crash.Net
  12. ↑ World Supersport: Tommy Hill signs for Hannspree Altea Honda – | Motorcycle Sport | WSB | BSB | MotoGP | TT & Road races | MCN
  13. ↑ Video: Tommy Hill at MCN offices – | Motorcycle Sport | WSB | BSB | MotoGP | TT & Road races | MCN
  14. ↑ http://www.thisiscourier.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=142736&command=displayContent&sourceNode=252025&contentPK=19718850&folderPk=115993&pNodeId=252035
  15. ↑ Nurburgring World Supersport: Broc Parkes fastest again, Tommy Hill in top ten – | Motorcycle Sport | WSB | BSB | MotoGP | TT & Road races | MCN
  16. ↑ http://www.bikesportnews.com/articles/article.html?id=TOMMY_HILL_RETURNS_HOME_AFTER_SURGERY_1
  17. ↑ "Tommy Hill signs with Honda for 2009". visordown.com (Magicalia Ltd.). 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  18. ↑ "All change at Honda Althea as Lagrive comes in for Hill". Superbike World Championship (Infront Motor Sports). 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  19. ↑ "Tommy Hill to ride Worx Suzuki at Mallory". visordown.com (Magicalia Ltd.). 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  20. ↑ "Brookes receives two race ban". crash.net (Crash Media Group). 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  21. ↑ "Guintoli back for Cadwell Park". visordown.com (Magicalia Ltd.). 2009-08-19. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  22. ↑ Pinchin, Gary (2009-09-06). "Hill confirmed for Hydrex Honda". Motorcycle News (Bauer Media Group). Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  23. ↑ Miller, David (2009-09-03). "Karl Harris sacked by Hydrex Honda". bikesportnews.com (BikeSport News). Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  24. ↑ Tommy Hill Signs For The Worx Crescent Suzuki Team For 2010
  25. ↑ "Hill on top after ‘brilliant’ day". crash.net (Crash Media Group). 2010-04-05. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  26. ↑ Hill continues to set pace
  27. ↑ Tommy Hill keen to put British Superbikes title hopes back on track
  28. ↑ Consistency puts Hill back in charge
  29. ↑ Tommy Hill signs for Swan Yamaha – News | Motorcycle Sport | BSB Results | MCN
  30. ↑ Error
  31. ↑ Error
  32. ↑ . Tommy Hill became the 2011 British Superbike Champion on 9 October at the final round of the championship at Brands Hatch after an epic fight with american John Hopkins in the final race of the season. Error
  33. ↑ british-superbikes
  34. ↑ "Round 12 – Standings: Oulton Park, 9–11 October 2009" (PDF). British Superbike Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2009-10-11. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  35. ↑ http://www.britishsuperbike.com/media/1307295/standings.pdf
  36. ↑ "Round 12 – Standings" (PDF). MotorSportVision Racing. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  37. ↑ "Round 1 – Standings" (PDF). MotorSportVision Racing. 9 April 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  38. ↑ Motorcycle Racing Online – Wildcard Tommy Hill on pole for World Superbikes
  39. ↑ http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-racing/world-superbike/brands-hatch-2006.htm
  40. ↑ http://www.worldsbk.com/en/season/standings?p_S_Campionato=SBK&p_Anno=2009&p_PilotiCostruttori=P
  41. ↑ http://www.worldsbk.com/en/season/standings.html?p_S_Campionato=SSP&p_Anno=2007&p_Round=&p_PilotiCostruttori=P
  42. ↑ http://www.worldsbk.com/en/season/standings.html?p_S_Campionato=SSP&p_Anno=2008&p_Round=&p_PilotiCostruttori=P

External links

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