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BK Maco Racing Team at the Qatar 8 Hour 2009 -19. 11. 2009- The 2009 World Endurance Championship concluded on November 14th with the Doha 8 hour race at Losail circuit in Qatar. After a podium finish in 2008 the Slovak BK Maco Racing team had high expectations, and hoped to impress new sponsors CFE. With the regular rider line up, Jason Pridmore (USA) Dani Ribalta and Victor Carasco (Spain) the team wanted to score points and improve upon their Championship position following the bad luck suffered at the Bol D’Or. The team were very competitive from the off with front running performances in free practice and qualification, topped off with Jason qualifying 3rd in Superpole. Dani Ribalta started the race and was in the leading pack when after just a few laps he pitted with a problem with the rear spindle assembly. After the faulty parts had been changed Dani rejoined the race and with seven and a half hours to go a good finish was still a possibility. Pridmore took the next rota, and had moved up to 15th position before inexplicably high siding heavily at turn 4. Jason broke his right collar bone and left thumb in the tumble and was taken directly to the medical centre for attention. For the Slovak team the race was over after just one and a half hours. The team were sad and disappointed. The poor luck which has dogged the BK Maco Racing Team this season had struck again, causing the team to finish the season in a disappointing 15th place in the championship. The team had shown great potential with podium finishes in their sights more than once during the year but good fortune, which plays its part in this motorcycle sport, deserted them on more than one occasion. Denisa Greskova, Team Manager: Another season passed. The result we have gained is not satisfactory. This year we have been in the best form ever when talking about riders, material and the team format. Everybody gave 100% to their job. Unfortunately, the result showed something different but our performance in particular races has confirmed that we have made a big improvement again and as a private team we have proven ourselves capable of fighting for the podium in EWC. I want to thank to all, every team member and partners for support in the passed season and to wish Jason a speedy recovery.

BK Maco Racing Team at the Bol D’Or 24 Hour race 2009 -14. 09. 2009- The 2009 World Endurance Championship continued with round 5 at the French Magny Cours circuit, near the town of Nevers in the Loire Valley. The Bol D’Or endurance race is one of the oldest races in the world, the first event being held in 1922. The Slovak team, BK Maco Racing arrived in France with a new team member, American Josh Hayes who had recently completed a double win weekend in the AMA championship to secure 2nd place overall in the 2009 AMA Superbike championship. Josh was standing in for the injured Victor Carrasco whose wrist, damaged at Suzuka, was not sufficiently recovered for a 24 hour race. Josh therefore teamed up with fellow American and friend Jason Pridmore, and Spaniard Dani Ribalta. The team were in good spirits from the start. The mechanics worked on basic bike set up, and Josh Hayes’ input, having raced an R1 in the AMA championship this season was very helpful. The team qualified in 7th place on aggregate times. A great performance came from Pridmore, who qualified 4th in his group. Jason rode in Superpole, improving his best time again, to put the team 7th on the grid. Dani Ribalta started the race but bad luck struck on just the second lap. The LMS 72 bike failed to stop in time for the hairpin and struck the National Motos 55 bike very hard, which in turn crashed into Dani bringing him and two other bikes down. Despite injuries to his wrist and foot Dani pushed the BK Racing Yamaha back to the pit box for repair. The engine oil sump had been holed in the crash and so had to be replaced in a difficult and lengthy repair. In total the team lost 55 minutes, rejoining the race in 52nd ( last ) place. Pridmore began the chase for championship points. He and Josh Hayes double stinted for the next 4 hours to give Dani time to seek medical attention and recover from his crash. Thankfully his wrist was not broken and just before darkness fell Dani rejoined the race. By 03:20 am the team were up to 30th place lapping faster than everyone outside the top 4 places, but at 05:00 am on lap 429, whilst in 28th place the bike stopped with an electrical problem, a consequence of the crash on lap 2. The bike had stopped at a point a long way from the pit box, a 45 minute push at least. The BK Maco Racing Team were therefore forced to abandon the race. Martin Kuzma, Team Owner: „It is hard to look for words. The weekend started nicely, riders gave 100%, the team worked well. The American Josh Hayes proved himself as a very good back up for Victor. It finished actually on the second lap of the race when one rider, too over motivated caused four riders to fall and from that time our troubles appeared. I have never in my life seen an engine oil tank broken in a crash. In the first hour we lost 55 minutes. However, in ever case we have proven in practice in qualifying and in the race that we are a competitive team capable of participating among the top teams of the World Championship. It didn’t happen in this race, but that was not caused by our mistake. I want to say thank you to the whole team, riders, mechanics and to all who support us.“ Next race is on November 14th, the 8 hour race in Qatar, where the team achieved 3rd place last year.

BK Maco Racing Team at the Suzuka 8 Hour 2009. -28. 07. 2009-  The 2009 World Endurance Championship continued with round 4 at Suzuka Circuit, Japan on July 26th, a race which, for the Japanese people is the most important race of the year. The Japanese motorcycle industry focuses on this event at Suzuka, and the machine and rider line up reflects this interest. Many fast Japanese riders, with a lot of experience at this very difficult circuit, make this race very hard for the European permanent teams. This year only three European teams made the journey to Japan, and BK Maco Racing Team were among them. The meeting started unhappily for the BK Maco Team, with Victor Carrasco falling at the hairpin on the third lap of practice, breaking his wrist. This left Jason Pridmore and Dani Ribalta only for the race. 57 teams took the starting grid, BK Maco in 37th place, Ribalta started the race. Dani made good progress in the first hour, pitting in 19th place. Jason had moved the team into 13th place after two hours, when the rain arrived. Pit stops were good throughout the race and the bike gave no problems despite the terrible and demanding conditions. The heavy rain caused the Safety Car to be used four times during the race for a period of over 1 hour. Tyre choice was crucial, as the track dried only to be soaked again by another downpour, and the team performed well, holding 10th place after 3 hours, the riders proving their quality once again. Both riders set lap times in the race faster than their qualifying best. At the finish of the race BK Maco Racing held 11th place, a fantastic result for the team. Six World Championship points were gained, moving the team up to 7th place in the World Championship, and filling all the team with great optimism for the last two races of the season. Martin Kuzma, Team Owner: “The meeting in Suzuka didn’t start well for us, but this time it finished very well. This was one of the most difficult Suzuka 8 Hours ever, and I am glad we did it successfully. The performance of both riders was excellent but I have to mention the fantastic condition of Jason following the injuries he sustained in April at Le Mans. The whole team has worked with no mistakes and I am happy that this year I can enjoy the work of my staff and I am grateful to all those who have participated at Suzuka. I want to express a big thank you to Yamaha Motor Company for their help and I believe we have pleased them with our performance. The race in Japan has confirmed our ambitions to finish the championship in the top five are real and we will do our best to make it true. The next race, the famous 24 hours race, Bol D’Or will take place in France at the Magny Cours circuit on September 12th – 13th. ”

Dear Mai, Thank you very much for wonderfull times we spend together in Suzuka and we are looking forward to meeting you soon – you are very welcome in Europe, come to see Bratislava one day, please! Kind regards, BK MACO RACING TEAM

BK Maco Racing Team – 8 Hours of Albacete -09. 07. 2009- BK Maco Racing Team took part in the third round of the World Endurance Championship over the weekend of 3rd – 4th July at the Albacete Circuit in Spain. After the excellent performance in the last round at Oschesleben, Germany, hopes were high within the team. American Jason Pridmore returned to the team after missing the last round due to injuries sustained at Le Mans. He partnered the Spanish pairing of Danni Ribalta and Victor Carrasco once again. The meeting was concentrated this year into just two days with practice and qualification on Friday, and the 8 hour race starting at 6.00 pm on Saturday. From the beginning riders, team members bikes and tyres suffered from the extreme heat, with temperatures in the mid thirties and the track temperature peaking at 50 degrees plus ! Qualification went very well for the team, less than 1 second covering the three riders qualification times. With such consistency the team qualified third on the grid. Dani Ribalta started the race for the BK Maco Racing Team and stayed in close contention with the leaders for the first hour. After three hours the team were holding second place, but during his second rota Dani Ribalta suffered from a tyre problem and dropped back to third spot despite a brilliant effort to remain on the pace. After seven hours of exciting racing Yamaha Austria led the race from Spanish Yamaha Team Folch Endurance by just 40 seconds. BK Maco Racing were only 13 seconds behind Folch and Carasco was confident of chasing down Folchs David Checa as he started his final rota. However, with just 40 minutes left in the race the rear sprocket failed on the BK Maco Yamaha, leaving Carasco to push the stricken bike back to the pit box. A quick repair saw the team rejoin the race in 7th place, where they stayed until the 8 hours was completed. The team were justifiably disappointed with 7th place after racing in the top three for so long but the performance had many positives, and the 11 championship points raised the team into 10th place overall at the half way point of the season. Denisa Grešková, Team Manager: „From the beginning it was a fantastic weekend. We were good in training and very good in Qualification The extreme temperature made things very difficult for everyone. The race developed very positively for us. Unfortunately, just when we dared to believe that a podium finish was possible the rear sprocket failed, and dropped us to 7th place. We raced with the leaders for the entire race and matched both Yart and Folch with fantastic pit stops. However, even now we feel sadness for the lost podium finish. The team is now very strong and we believe that we can produce great results in our remaining races.“ The next race for BK Maco Racing is in Japan on July 26th, the famous Suzuka 8 Hour.

BK Maco Racing Team - 8 Hours of Oschersleben. -28. 04. 2009-  The World Endurance Championship continued at Oschesleben, Germany on the weekend of 29th to 31st May. This event was an opportunity for the BK Maco Racing Team to score their first points in this years championship after the DNF at Le Mans. The injured American, Jason Pridmore, was replaced by the very experienced Austrian rider, Andreas Meklau, a lap record holder at Oschesleben. Andy has won many national championships in his career as well as victories in World Superbikes. He was also a regular rider in the 500cc World Championship. Andy joined Spanish riders, Daniel Ribalta and Victor Carrasco on the BK Maco Racing Yamaha. Free practice and qualifying went well with the riders aggregate time putting the team in 4th place going into our first ever Superpole. Dani Ribalta rode the one lap Superpole for the team, qualifying 6th on the grid. The team were very happy with this.The race is not won in Superpole ! At the 6 hour mark the team were back up to 6th place, but at six and a half hours, the rain came. The team had hoped to gain third place before the end but with 75 minutes of the 8 hours remaining the FIM Jury stopped the race due to the appalling weather. The rain was torrential, and an observation camera on the circuit had been hit by lightning ! The jury decision was correct. Denisa Greskova, Team Manager: “ I want to thank all our partners and the whole team for the fantastic work done, it was my honour to work with them at this race. Our team had the fastest exchange in the box, even faster than the winning team and I have to express my 100 per cent satisfaction with the team discipline. We have made big progress. Our riders have proven their high quality, Andy made a big contribution. For Dani and Victor, what can I say ? they were perfect and we are looking forward to Albacete, their home race.” BK Maco Moto Racing Team will race next on the 4th July in the 3rd round of the World Endurance Championship at the Albacete 8 hour race in Spain.

BK Maco Moto RT at Le Mans. -28. 04. 2009-  The 2009 World Endurance Championship began on April 18 – 19th with the famous 24 hour race at Le Mans, France. After competing for the last 6 years, Slovak team, BK Maco Moto Racing Team had to be there. For this race the Slovak team had 2 Spanish riders and 1 American, equipped with 2 brand new 2009 R1 Yamahas. The team were keen to build on their fantastic 3rd position, achieved at the last race in the 2008 season, at Losail circuit, Qatar. One of the Spanish riders, Dani Ribalta, won the 2006 Le Mans 24 Hour race. For his countryman Victor Carrasco this was to be his first race at Le Mans, but from pre season testing the team knew that Victor would be fast. American Jason Pridmore, World Endurance Champion 2003, raced with the team last year, so his outstanding quality was well known. The team therefore entered the race with high hopes. Free practice and qualifying ran without any problems and the Slovak team qualified in 12th position out of 46. Qualifying lap times for all three riders were very promising showing that the team were capable of running at the front of the field. Ribalta started the race at 3 pm on Saturday. Each riders’ rota was just under one hour, and the team settled comfortably into the top ten, running between 5th and 9th place, depending on pit stops. As with all marathon 24 hour Endurance races, good luck is required. Unfortunately for the team luck deserted us in the middle of the night. Almost twelve hours into the race, Jason Pridmore crashed heavily in torrential rain. In this high speed crash Jason sustained fractures to his left arm and heel and was unable to push the bike back to the pit box, signalling the end of the race for the team. This was obviously a big disappointment and the team were very concerned about Jason’s injuries. However, this is motorcycle endurance racing and incidents like this are part of the sport. Even with this setback, the team is not discouraged and will continue to fight their way toward the top, building on the promise shown during the first twelve hours of the race. Denisa Greskova, Team Manager: “Our team was well prepared. Our motorcycles and pit box for this year was a surprise for our competitors and journalists. Although we are not a factory team, during the winter Martin Kuzma demonstrated that he could prepare everything to top quality. Before our crash everything was going to plan, but between 1 am and 3 am there were many incidents due to the heavy rain. Jason’s fall came when we were in 5th position. Jason’s injuries meant that his leathers and boots needed to be cut off. I am very sorry for Jason. He has apologised for what happened. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Jason a swift recovery and to let him know that we are looking forward to his return, back to full health, when we can welcome him back to the team.” Martin Kuzma, Team Owner: “I have mixed feelings. On one hand, we did not finish the race because unfortunately Jason got hurt, but on the other hand we have never been in such a high position during a race at Le Mans. During training our riders made fantastic times, with the top ten and Superpole only escaping us by 0.3 seconds. We were the third fastest Yamaha team and the first with a standard engine. Four months work in preparing the motorcycle proved its worth. The whole weekend ran very smoothly with riders, motorcycles, and the whole team working at 110%. I would like to say thank you to everybody in the team, and to all of our sponsors and partners.” “In the end we were stopped by a crash, a racing incident. I am very sorry about Jason’s injury, but I had the opportunity to communicate with him after his surgery. His Doctor has stated that he should make a speedy recovery from his injuries.” BK Maco Moto Racing Team will race next on the 31st May at the Oschersleben 8 hour race in Germany.

Slovak team makes history!!! -19. 02. 2009-  Slovak team Maco Moto achieved the goal of getting on the podium at the final round of the 2008 World Endurance Championship in Doha, Qatar. The team went to Qatar with team regular Jason Pridmore, Thomas Hinterreiter and World Superbike rider Jakub Smrz. Other team rider Warwick Nowland had to sit out the final round due to an injury while training on his motorcross bike at home. From the beginning of the meeting Maco Moto consistently found themselves in the top 3 positions on the time sheets. Jakub brought his expierience and it showed. On pace from the start it took him no time to get used to the teams Yamaha R1. Both Pridmore and Hinterreiter had accidents during there qualifying session but were ok. Austrian Hiterreiter would be most effected after suffering a wrist injury. The team would start 6th after qualifying was finished. Jakub made a quick start and was quickly pushing the leaders. When factory Suzuki rider Matthew Lagrive pushed a bit to much and fell over, Maco Moto was leading a World Endurance Championship race for the first time. Throughout the race the team battled with Austria's YART racing. Maco Moto seemed certain for a podium, the team's first. With 2 hours to go, Smrz was suffering from severe back spasms and Thomas bravely went out for a 30 minute stint. Pridmore did the last hour plus some to bring the team home in 3rd place. There were big celebrations and this was the first time a Slovak team had seen podium success. Seeing the Slovak flag being waved made all the hard work pay off. Our year end result moved us up to 10th overall in the final standings. Martin "Maco" Kuzma started the team in 2003 with dreams of achieving big results in the EWC. With this placing in the final round, the team along with team manager Denisa Greskova and focused there attention on the 2009 season. There will be a small team name change. The team will now be known as Team BK Maco Racing. "Company BK group which has residence in Piestany is joining us for the second year. BK Group is the teams primary sponsor, helping with financial support and organization. We have set exactly the same goals and together as BK Maco Moto we will set out to achieve them" says Kuzma. To further expand our vision, we will run two bikes at the Ocherslaben and Albacete rounds. "Our second bike will have Slovak pilots aboard to help increase the awareness of where we have come from" Kuzma added. For 2009 the team welcomes in new rider Daniel Ribalta. Daniel brings 15 years of experience to the team, coming off his best overall finish in the Championship in 2008, finishing 3rd overall with Folch Racing. Ribalta was part of the winning team at the famous Le Mans 24hr in 2006. He has had success also in home Championships both solo and endurance racing. Joining the team for a second year in American Jason Pridmore. Kuzma says, “Jason is an extraordinary pilot, professional, who is trying to be faster without blaming the bike in possible unsuccessful of the team. He constantly pushes himself even in the worst conditions possible. When Jakub was setting the pace at Qatar, Jason simply new he had to push himself harder. He is a true teamate with whoever he rides with". Our quest begins at the Le Mans 24 hour in April. Currently we are in talks with many riders for the final spot on the team. We are proud to have close support from Yamaha. The new 2009 Yamaha R1 will be supplied with Big Bang technology, which was used till now in Moto GP. This should increase torque in low speed turns and smoothen the performance overall of the bike. We welcome back leading tire manufacter Dunlop. Also, Arrow exhausts is back with us. The team will be on Marvic 16.0 inch fronts and 16.5 inch rears. Brembo brakes will be new to us and something the riders are looking forward to. In closing, the 2009 EWC season should be a big one for Maco Moto. Seeing where the team has come from in the last 6 years and the current path we are on, this year should be our best yet. Maco is working hard everyday to make sure that we start off where we finished 08. See you all at the races.

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