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Camier Crowned 1 Degree British Sports Personality of the Year 2009!
15/12/09
Veteran footballer Ryan Giggs may have been crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2009, but equally deserving of the coveted title is British Superbike rider, Leon Camier.
The British Superbikes doesn’t get BBC airtime, unfortunately, and so having been extremely impressed by his feat this season, we’ve decided to crown Leon 1º British Sports Personality of the Year 2009; after all he rode his way to Championship title victory, with an unprecedented 19 wins out of 26 races, and three second-place finishes.
As if that wasn’t enough, he secured a ‘hat trick’ at Brands Hatch, just days after his 23rd birthday, smashing Naill MacKenzie’s longstanding championship record, in the process.
It’s obviously fair to say that Leon, whom we featured in issue 4, had a season others could only dream of. But, as is often the case in motorsport, it wasn’t a completely smooth ride for 6ft 3” Leon, who is unusually tall for a Superbike Rider.
Back in 2008, during the usual winter negotiations and after re-signing with his team, GSE Racing, it transpired they were ditching Ducati, after a 10-year partnership, in favour of Yamaha.
For Leon, this meant the last 12 months of development and testing, in order to get the absolute best out of his V twin 1098R, would count for very little, as he’d effectively have to start from scratch.
Worst still, the Yamaha YZF R1, although gaining a serious reputation in World Superbikes and Moto GP, was still very much unproven in the national championship, meaning there was virtually no data for Leon and GSE to tap into.
In addition GSE Racing had no experience of Yamaha’s ‘big bang’ engine. Although characteristically similar to his Duc twin, they would need to take full advantage of the ‘off season’ to develop and test it rigorously enough to be in contention for the forthcoming season.
Unfortunately, as with all ‘best laid plans…...!’ It would take Yamaha until mid February to build four bikes in order that GSE Racing could fettle and fine tune; effectively giving Leon and his teammate, James Ellison, just over a month to get to grips with the characteristics of the R1, before the season got underway in April.
Not a fan of the cold, Leon swapped England for Australia, staying with his friend, former Moto GP Champion, Casey Stoner.
A gruelling winter training session of mostly cycling ensued, with a bit of fishing, wild boar and ‘Sheelagh’ hunting, thrown in for good measure!
It was mid February when Leon returned to Britain, only to discover that THE bike was not ready. March came and went. It wasn’t until the eve of the first race of the season that Leon got his first opportunity to try out the eagerly awaited YZF R1.
“It’s brutal!” said Camier, when I spoke to him after his first test session at Brands Hatch. “It’s difficult to get the power down out of the corners and I’m seriously down on horsepower compared to the rest of the field. We’ve got a lot of work to do!”
Much discussion took place in the office, as to how he’d fare in Race One. “He’s a professional,” our photographer commented, “I’m sure he’ll be fine!”
Sure enough, despite the lack of testing, things looked promising after Leon finished 2nd fastest after the first two practise sessions.
The following day, Leon recorded a fourth ever British Superbike victory of his career, in Race Two of Round One and that virtually set the tone for the rest of his season.
A clearly delighted Leon said, “After the first race I knew I had the pace to be on the podium, but to win is amazing. In the first race I made a few mistakes, which really cost me, but the performance of the R1 was faultless!”
Before moving onto his next race at Oulton Park, Leon won an hour-long cycle race at Lydden Hill, ahead of Category One racer Phil Anthony!
Very good considering he only took up cycling after his potentially career ending accident at Cadwell Park in 2007, which resulted in Leon breaking his femur (thigh bone), fracturing his pelvis not to mention dislocating and fracturing his knee, which ended his debut British Superbike Season!
At Oulton Park, he posted the fastest time of the weekend to claim pole position, followed by a career-first double victory. Securing Yamaha’s first double BSB win in 11 years, Leon reflected on the weekend saying, “We really didn’t expect a double win today, it feels awesome. We knew the Airwaves Yamaha would struggle being down on top speed, but it handled so well…”
Next up it was Donnington, where Leon again posted the fastest lap of the weekend to claim a second consecutive pole position and went onto extend his lead in the Championship to 28 points after winning Race One.
Unfortunately a technical issue with the bike put him back to 12th in Race Two, it happens!
Another double win for Leon at Thruxton sparked rumours that the lack of competition in Championship was the real reason behind his unprecedented success, particularly as the likes of his former teammate Shakey Burne and Leon Haslem had gone to World Superbikes.
Despite the cynicism, Leon continued his relentless attack on the Championship at Snetterton by securing another double win!
Having by now won 8 out of the 10 British Superbike races, he was given a Wild Card entry into the British round of the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park. An excited Leon was quoted as saying, “Ever since the team told me I was going to be Wild Card at Donington Park, I have been counting down the days! “The Airwaves Yamaha is working so well. With my engineer I’ve found a set-up, which gives me the confidence to overtake pretty much anywhere. Although we struggled slightly on top speed, hopefully we’ll be able to find something a bit extra. I’m sure it won’t be an easy weekend, but I’m excited to see how I do against the World Superbike teams and riders. Obviously, It’s important to treat these races like any other, but of course I would love to come away with two good results.”
Sadly, it wasn’t to be; Leon had a bad start from 17th on the grid, dropping back to 22st, before eventually climbing back to 13th. A few hours later, however, Leon put on a magnificent show, riding his heart out, leaving any doubters firmly in the know that he was certainly a Champion in the making.
Relating his experience, Leon said, “Race One was tough. I struggled with braking, steering and a lack of grip, plus my start was horrendous. The take-off point of the clutch was different and put me into a massive wheelie. It was difficult to pass with the lack of grip and brake problems, but I had to take the chance whenever I could. I was a lot happier with Race Two. I still suffered with brake problems, but I just had to ride around them and overtake at every possible opportunity. My start was only slightly better compared to Race One, but still pretty terrible! To make my way up to 6th from 22nd is a big achievement!”
Back to the British Superbike Championship at Knockhill, and Leon, clearly buoyed by his World achievements, delivered his fourth double win of the season; giving his team their first ever victory at Knockhill since they joined the Championship in 1996.
The rest of the season continued in the same vain. There were a few hairy moments at Mallory Park, but it was at Brands Hatch, where he delighted loyal fans with the first ever ‘triple’ race win at his home circuit, breaking the record for the most number of wins in a British Superbike season, simultaneously. Taking him ahead of his teammate in the points to 113.5. If that wasn’t enough, Leon’s 14th victory meant that another record was achieved as team boss Colin Wright celebrated his 100th British Superbike win!
After that GSE Racing’s ‘golden boy’ was off to Cadwell, where he won the first race. Unfortunately, Leon was disqualified in the second for failing to stop on the final lap, under a black and orange flag, because race officials believed his ‘smoking’ bike was burning oil – a no win situation for Leon, by this point almost five seconds ahead of ‘the field.’
A furore amidst the paddock and race control erupted, prompting GSE Racing to issue statements to the press, but Leon was determined not to be drawn into the debate and dealt with it admirably, given the circumstances.
Soon enough the penultimate round at Silverstone was soon upon us, and as with the preceding season, there was to be a show down against his teammate. With 434.5 points to his name, Leon, like the consummate professional he has become, went on to win in dramatic style to clinch the coveted British Superbike crown. "It’s a dream come true to become British Superbike Champion. I have to thank everyone who has helped me get here. The first race was one of the hardest of the season for me. I was pushing so hard and there were some places where I was a bit out of control. I kept trying to make passes, but they weren’t working out. Thankfully it all turned out okay in the end. It’s an unbelievable feeling to know I’ve finally done it!”
And he certainly did it in style!
Congratulations Leon, you are a deserving 1º British Sports Personality of the Year 2009!
Words: Suzannah Sorrell (Editor)
