From a press release issued by GSE Racing, which races in the FIM Superbike World Championship as HM Plant Ducati:

GSE quits World Superbike racing

Following the statement of intent issued in the aftermath of the Dutch round of the Superbike World Championship, Team Principal Darrell Healey has confirmed that GSE Racing is quitting the Superbike World Championship series at the end of the 2003 season.

GSE Racing has achieved notable success in both British and World Superbike Championships over the past seven years. Above all, it has nurtured the undoubted talent of Troy Bayliss and Neil Hodgson to win the British Superbike Championship in 1999 and 2000. They have both now gone on to become World Superbike Champions with Ducati Corse in 2001 and 2003 respectively.

However, GSE Racing has not succeeded with its ambition to secure full manufacturer support at World Championship level in 2002-03. This would have been the team’s next logical step in its quest for continued success. Therefore, GSE Racing has decided not to continue in its support of the Superbike World Championship after the French round of the series at Magny-Cours on 19 October.

GSE Racing Team Principal Darrell Healey said: “The current situation surrounding the future of the Superbike World Championship has created a vacuum which has resulted in the demise of any future interest that GSE Racing may have in the series. We are unable to proceed with Ducati and there are no other manufacturer options open to us at this stage due to the uncertainty surrounding the series.

“It would appear that MotoGP is attracting the interest of the leading manufacturers and therefore the future of international motorcycle racing lies in that class. I don’t feel that GSE Racing, the other top teams and the manufacturers in Superbike have been consulted in what I would consider to be an appropriate manner. This has resulted in a position of stalemate which in effect has prevented the team in moving forward.

“GSE Racing is currently assessing its future position. There are a number of exciting opportunities open to us and I hope that we will be in a position to make a further announcement about this in the near future. We may be quitting the World Superbike racing scene but the future could still be a bright one within motorsport and the motorcycle industry at large. GSE Racing has been the number one British team over the past five years and the high level of expertise contained within the team should provide us with a stable platform for the future.

“On behalf of everyone associated with the team, I would like to thank my colleagues within the GSE Group for their support of GSE Racing. In addition, we are indebted to the support that Ducati Corse and HM Plant have shown to the team, particularly during our three-year stint in World Superbikes. And finally, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to Dunlop and all the other sponsors, suppliers and staff who have helped us throughout our Superbike racing career. Without them, our success story to date would not have been possible.”