| 2011 name | Relentless by TAS Suzuki |
|---|---|
| Base | Moneymore, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland |
| Team principal/s | Philip Neill |
| Race riders | Josh Brookes Alastair Seeley |
| Motorcycle | Suzuki GSX-R1000 |
| Tyres | Pirelli |
| Riders' Championships | none |
TAS Racing is an International road racing team based in Moneymore, County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. The team is known under a couple of names: originally TAS Suzuki then from 2007 till 2011 Relentless energy drinks, a product of Coca-Cola, teamed up with TAS but from 2012 the team was rebranded Tyco Suzuki joining up with new title sponsers Tyco Security products. The team is owned by Hector Neill, and his son Philip Neill is the team manager.
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In 2007, Michael Laverty and Ian Lowry rode for the Relentless Suzuki team in the British Supersport Championship. Laverty came out on top of a Relentless 1-2 in the championship, taking 6 wins to Lowry's 1.[1]
For 2008 the team stepped up to the full British Superbike Championship for the first time, with Laverty the sole rider. He finished 9th in a consistent season, just failing to make the podium on several occasions. Lowry continued in Supersport, taking 2 wins and 3 further podiums on his way to third in the series.[2]
Laverty departed for the AMA in 2009, allowing Lowry to move onto the superbike alongside Atsushi Watanabe. Lowry had a strong year, finishing fifth overall and narrowly missing out on the team's maiden podium a few times. Watanabe struggled for much of the year, amassing only 14 points and never breaking in to the top ten. The team did not enter a Supersport bike for this year, but instead fielded a Superstock GSXR1000 for roads rider Alastair Seeley, who won the championship in dominant fashion. Seeley won the first 9 rounds, and took 3rd in the tenth before stepping up to the BSB class for the final 2 rounds.[3] Seeley will be joined by the returning Laverty in BSB for 2010.
So far in 2010, Laverty has finished strongly, always finishing inside the top 10, including a maiden win for the team in a damp & difficult race 2 at Oulton Park. After Oulton Park, Laverty was fourth in the standings with 65 points after 3 rounds. Alastair Seeley has also been strong, only dropping out of the top 6 once, also getting a podium (3rd) and only narrowly missing out on another 3rd in Oulton park. Alastair Seeley is currently fifth in the standings. Both are currently on to qualify for the 'Showdown'.
Adrian Archibald and Bruce Anstey rode for the team in 2007. After enjoying much success on the road racing scene as TAS Suzuki, the Relentless Suzuki team seemed to have started where they left off. At the North West 200, Bruce Anstey scored a hat-trick of race victories for Relentless, and at the TT he scored another win in the Superstock race.
For the 2008 season, the team have signed Australian rider Cameron Donald to ride in the International road races and one of the British Championship classes.
Philip Neill was extremely pleased with his signing, saying, "Cameron is a phenomenally talented rider with a good level of technical ability. He also has a great personality and PR skills to match, so obviously we are delighted to have him on board for 2008. My dad and I have actually had our eye on him for quite some time. He was unlucky to miss out on some international races this year due to injury, but he has all but dominated the national scene in Ireland for the past two years. His second place at the 2006 TT in the Senior race was very impressive, especially as he also recorded a lap of 128mph in only his second appearance in the Isle of Man."
At the 2008 Isle of Man TT Donald led Anstey home in a Relentless 1-2 in the Superbike race. Donald then won the Superstock race and Anstey the Supersport in another successful campaign. They were unable to repeat these results in 2009, Donald breaking the lap record in practice but then being forced to miss the races after injuring his back and shoulder and Anstey claiming a solitary second place in the second Supersport race after being plagued by reliability issues.
The 2009 North West 200 Races were more successful, Anstey claiming second places in the supersport and superbike races, with Donald placing fourth in the latter, and Seeley winning the superstock race.
The Isle of Man TT 2010 was almost a complete wash out for the relentless team with only one podium coming from Bruce Anstey on the Friday Senior TT race. Looking forward into 2011 Hector and the boys at Relentless have signed fast talking Lincolnshire lightning bolt Guy Martin to their road racing Team.... No other signing for 2011 season have been confirmed as yet.
| Year | Rider | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Pts | Ref | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R3 | |||||
| 2009 | Ian Lowry | BHI 13 |
BHI 19 |
OUL 7 |
OUL 6 |
DON 8 |
DON 6 |
THR 19 |
THR 8 |
SNE 5 |
SNE 7 |
KNO 6 |
KNO Ret |
MAL 8 |
MAL 20 |
BHGP 12 |
BHGP 12 |
BHGP 9 |
CAD 4 |
CAD Ret |
CRO 5 |
CRO 7 |
SIL 8 |
SIL 9 |
OUL 8 |
OUL Ret |
OUL 4 |
5th | 170 | [4] | ||
| Atsushi Watanabe | BHI 17 | BHI 21 | OUL 14 | OUL 12 | DON 19 | DON Ret | THR 14 | THR Ret | SNE 18 | SNE 16 | KNO 14 | KNO 15 | MAL 14 | MAL 19 | BHGP 17 | BHGP 15 | BHGP 19 | CAD 20 | CAD 16 | CRO 18 | CRO 21 | SIL 19 | SIL Ret | 27th | 14 | |||||||
| Alastair Seeley | BHI | BHI | OUL | OUL | DON | DON | THR | THR | SNE | SNE | KNO | KNO | MAL | MAL | BHGP | BHGP | BHGP | CAD | CAD | CRO | CRO | SIL Ret |
SIL 10 |
OUL Ret |
OUL 13 |
OUL DNS |
32nd | 9 | ||||
| 2010 | Michael Laverty | BHI Ret |
BHI 4 |
THR 10 |
THR 6 |
OUL 5 |
OUL 1 |
CAD 2 |
CAD 3 |
MAL 3 |
MAL 3 |
KNO 4 |
KNO C |
SNE 6 |
SNE 5 |
SNE 3 |
BHGP 6 |
BHGP 4 |
BHGP Ret |
CAD 4 |
CAD 4 |
CRO 2 |
CRO 1 |
SIL 3 |
SIL Ret |
OUL 4 |
OUL 8 |
OUL 4 |
4th | 604 | [5] | |
| Alastair Seeley | BHI 4 |
BHI 3 |
THR 12 |
THR 9 |
OUL 4 |
OUL 6 |
CAD 9 |
CAD 7 |
MAL 10 |
MAL 11 |
KNO 5 |
KNO C |
SNE 5 |
SNE 3 |
SNE Ret |
BHGP 1 |
BHGP Ret |
BHGP Ret |
CAD 8 |
CAD 9 |
CRO Ret |
CRO 15 |
SIL 6 |
SIL 4 |
OUL 15 |
OUL 5 |
OUL 7 |
6th | 550 | [6] | ||
| 2011 | Josh Brookes | BHI Ret |
BHI DNS |
OUL 6 |
OUL Ret |
CRO 8 |
CRO 4 |
THR 9 |
THR 6 |
KNO 5 |
KNO 13 |
SNE 7 |
SNE 2 |
OUL 2 |
OUL C |
BHGP 1 |
BHGP 6 |
BHGP Ret |
CAD DSQ |
CAD 4 |
CAD 2 |
DON 6 |
DON 5 |
SIL 4 |
SIL 1 |
BHGP 2 |
BHGP Ret |
BHGP 6 |
5th | 598 | [7] | |