By Finishing fourth in Road Racing News top five roads teams from 2018, is multi Mountain Course, Ulster GP victors, Silicone Engineering Racing.
Running for the third successive season Bradford’s Dean Harrison, the Silicone squad enjoyed another stellar International roads tenure with the twice Duke Road Race Rankings champion.
Runner up in the opening Superbike encounter of May’s Vauxhall International North West 200, TT 2018 saw Oliver’s Mount maestro Harrison step up more than a couple of levels around the fabled Mountain Course.
Following on from setting a new Superbike qualifying lap record, race week saw the fast talking Yorkshireman in prime contention for honours across all solo classes, excluding Lightweight, TT Zero.
On course for RST Superbike race honours prior to mechanical misfortune, he doubled his TT wins tally in style in the second Monster Energy Supersport race, whilst the Royal London 360 Quantum Superstock race saw him and the Silicone team, dominantly head Kawasaki’s challenge, on route to a third place finish.
Photo by Mark Corlett
Ultimately just missing out on Pokerstars Senior victory, a dazzling new personal best lap speed of 134.918 mph, making him now the second fastest racer in TT history, is also a credit to Silicone Engineering Racing for providing machinery of the highest quality to a racer of Harrison’s calibre.
Outside of TT 2018, Harrison also enjoyed a dominant Southern 100 campaign, banking five victories from five starts, including retaining the showpiece Solo Championship title.
August provided more top draw feats including a second successive Superbike Classic TT crown, plus claiming for the first time in lap record breaking fashion, Superstock honours at the MCE Insurance Ulster Grand Prix.
Looking towards 2019, there’s no changes in the rider line up for Silicone Engineering Racing, having secured Harrison’s services again for the premier International meets.
Set to run again high spec top quality Kawasaki machinery, including the marques new ZX-10RR steed, there’s no doubt that more tumultuous feats are on the horizon, for an outfit which has developed quickly into one of pure road racing’s leading, most highly rated teams.
Words by Stevie Rial
