From a GSE Racing press release:

GSE Racing partner Ducati UK in S4 Challenge

GSE Racing is to partner Ducati UK in the running of the 2002 Monster S4 challenge. The organisation behind the HM Plant Ducati World Superbike team will act as the sole race preparation service for the new addition to the British Superbike calendar.

GSE Racing has the perfect credentials to take on such a project. As well as Neil Hodgson’s fifth place in the 2001 Superbike World Championship, the team took current Superbike World Champion Troy Bayliss and Neil Hodgson to back-to-back British titles in 1999 and 2000.

Managing Director of Ducati UK, and creator of the Monster S4 Challenge, Piero Guidi commented: “We are extremely pleased to be working with GSE Racing on this project. The S4 Challenge is something very close to my own heart and to have such a well respected team involved is a key element in the organisation. Their involvement makes me confident that this exciting series will be a huge success”.

30 of the 916-engined Monster S4s will be identically prepared using a range of Ducati Performance products. The bikes will then be shipped to the circuit ready for the competitors. Each bike will be prepared for racing by the same technicians and the machines will then be randomly allocated before each round in order to ensure that races will be won purely on the basis of rider skill.

Consumables, such as tyres and repairs, will also be included in the cost and it is expected that local Ducati dealers will support many of the entries. The only stipulation is that all riders must hold an ACU-approved licence. The races themselves will take place over ten rounds and will be slotted in-between the two British Superbike races. A clothing deal will also be on offer.

Best of all, the entry fee (somewhere in the region of £15,000) also includes the purchase price of a Monster S4 race bike. This means that, even if you were to decide that racing was not for you, you still come away with a pretty serious track day tool as a souvenir.

There will be no shortage of expertise on hand to prepare the Ducati Performance-equipped Monster S4 race-bikes. The same expert technicians that work on Neil Hodgson and James Toseland’s superbikes will be responsible for the entire fleet for the new Ducati series. Competitors will not only have the luxury of racing in one of the most high profile and exciting championships in the UK, but also on a machine prepared by the organisation behind a race-winning World Superbike team.

HM Plant Ducati team manager Colin Wright commented: “We really enjoyed being part of the British Championships and are happy to participate once again. I also see it as a great way of strengthening our ties with Ducati.

“The S4 Challenge promises to be an extremely exciting series which will hopefully nurture new racing talent for the future”.

The S4 Challenge kicks off on 1 April and will follow the British Superbike Championship to most major race circuits.

If you are interested in receiving further details about the series, please email [email protected].