GSE To Close Down ?

GSE Racing - Close to closure?

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The faltering global economy continues to take its toll on motorcycle racing paddocks around the world. Today, the GSE Racing team announced that unless they can find a title sponsor, they will be forced to close up shop and quit BSB next season. Despite winning the last two BSB titles - with Shane Byrne in 2008 and Leon Camier in 2009 - GSE lost their title sponsor Airwaves at the end of the 2009 season, and GSE boss Colin Wright has so far failed to find a replacement. The failure to find funding has meant that the team has been forced to notify all of their current staff that they are likely to lose their jobs at the end of the year.

While not finding a sponsor has put the continuity of the team at risk, paddock rumors suggest that the team has become a victim of its own ambition. The team had a long and successful partnership with Ducati, which has brought them several championships and helped make household names of riders such as Troy Bayliss, Neil Hodgson, Gregorio Lavilla, Shane Byrne, Chris Walker, Leon Haslam and James Toseland. But after plans to enter the World Superbike championship in 2009 fell through, when Ducati refused to make factory-spec 1198 F09s available, the team decided to switch to Yamaha's new R1 and stay in BSB. While the results were favorable - the team won all but 3 of the 26 BSB races held - the costs involved in running the team were much higher, with Yamahas reportedly costing over 60% more to buy and run. Without a title sponsor, those costs were unsustainable, regardless of results.

The team's hopes are not completely gone, but one month is not much time to find a sponsor willing to make a serious investment in a national racing series. Even titles are no guarantee of survival in the current harsh financial climate, it seems.

This recession is ****, I can handle pay cuts, reduced working hours and not having a bean to my name but when they mess with my entertainment, well it's just not on. :roll

amb67 said:

This recession is ****, I can handle pay cuts, reduced working hours and not having a bean to my name but when they mess with my entertainment, well it's just not on. :roll

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Amen to that although i would like some working hours full stop. :confused

saint nick said:

Colin Wright is a master exponent of spin But he wont do it all half arsed, unlike some. He'd rather stay at home than run a team on peanuts.

The reality is that the bike industry is in full blown, full on crisis. October new sales were down 25%, yep 25%, and with a VAT increase and materials costs leaping through the roof I reckon it looks very bleak indeed. Buell, HD, Morini(again), Augusta (again) and KTM are either in or very close to administration - or gone already.

The UK used market survived OK, partly thanks to German/Dutch raiding parties taking advantage of the exchange rates (£/Euro). But even that is looking bleak. I've noticed fleabay used prices are crashing, a sure sign of real world problems.

The upside of all this: they wont be able to sustain their new price increases = cracking deals to be had over the next three months if you're buying. New and used.

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Yes it makes for bleak reading but i think the bike industry lagged behind the car industry in going into recession. Last in last out etc.

I heard that Honda Usa is looking at axing nearly 2/3 of it's dealerships if it doesn't turn around.
KTM like Harley are victims of their own ambition with a rapidly expanding product/dealer range that couldn't be sustained without the volume of the boom years.

Still easy to be wise now i guess. Not like some of the so called experts didn't come unstuck.

Lucky you, I was a precision engineer till the financial **** hit the fan, I tried for one of 3 jobs on offer at the local Tesco's stacking shelves on night shift.

The list was closed at just over 300 applicants and I made the 20 finalists chosen for an interview,so that was a 3 hour group interview with 9 others which included 1 hour actually stacking shelves for them unpayed.

I got a nice letter the next week saying how impressed they were but unfortunately I wasn't one of the chosen ,and how they wanted to keep my aplication for the next 6 months just in case something came along

FFS it was stacking shelves, how much ****** lower can a trained craftsman get in this ******** of a mis managed country ? :jack:jack:jack:jack:jack:jack

Sorry for the rant,dealing with those tossers at the jobcentre has this effect on me.

I see Piaggio took out a Senior Bond for 150m Euro's on the 26th Nov.
(senior bond = Code for bigger overdraft )

They are all feeling the pinch.

Not surprised the bike industry is following the car industry in to free fall, the bikes are over priced as are the cars. I fully understand that raw material costs have increased for manufacturers blah blah blah... :roll

But they need to slash prices in a recession to shift the product and try to tie the customer in to the brand/franchise and make revenue from the after sales area of the business via accessories - warranty etc..... :eatcorn

What's the ultimate goal in a recession for a business?

Sell the product!

Will they sell it if people are **** scared about losing their jobs?

No!

Will they sell thier product if the prices are being artificially inflated to generate revenue for the business because sales are poor?

No!

FFS the bike industry needs to wake up and smell the coffee, customers are not stupid so stop treating us that way. Something needs to change and soon otherwise Aprilia will be no more.

If they had priced the RSV4 at around £8K - £10K then guess what, I'd have had one in my garage, greedy company Aprilia.


Hats off to you guys taking jobs at Asda and all that, I'd do exactly the same given that situation. Any works better than none and the pittance they pay is good for a few gallon of fuel for fun at the weekends. :thumbup

Nicely put Dexter :thumbup

I did a month at £5.80 PH on a builders site getting used as a donkey.
Luckily i'm getting the odd bit of IT work now so don't have to do it so much but it is soul destroying.
I still had to grab it with both hands at the time.

Just don't forget how we got to this point.
The good old British public have a habit of forgetting or not bothering to hold people to account. Although many people have been architects of their own downfall credit wise, many are just decent hard working folk just wanting to earn a living. Not too much to ask really is it.

The best recession thing i ever saw was a Plaque holder outside the USA stock exchange when some trader guys were on the roof all upset cos there share portfolio went belly up.

I think it said "jump you feckers" :angry