P&H Motorcycles News & Events

Sam shows his confidence with the Öhlins Cartridge Kit

Öhlins runner Sam Lowes took the 2010 British Supersport Championship by storm and wrapped up the title a round early winning a sodden Silverstone race on his GNS Racing Honda.

Lowes switched to the new Öhlins 30mm cartridge kit as a performance upgrade for his front suspension mid-season and from that point never looked back in the championship. The lightweight and highly functional design was developed in the World Supersport and Superstock championships to provide performance, stable damping characteristics and fantastic comfort for sportsbikes.

From the opening race of the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport championship, Lowes held a healthy lead over his main championship rivals; 2009 runner-up Billy McConnell, his CAME Yamaha teammate James Westmorland and Graeme Gowland on the PTR Honda.

The ever-smiling Lowes not only proved the point that to finish first, first you have to finish, he also ended up on the podium in all but one race during the season.

Commenting on the way his switch to Öhlins helped with his championship-winning performance Lowes said, "My bike is brilliant and the team are doing everything they can to give me the tools for the job. I've had great feel and feedback from the Öhlins, I think the best word to describe them is 'planted'. We did a back-to-back test with our previous supplier on a Mallory track day and really clicked with the Öhlins internals straight away. Since I've been running them I've had three poles and three wins so that says it all really! It's about getting the overall package right and then fine-tuning along the way and keep stepping forward." Quality and performance are implicit in this technologically advanced Öhlins component which targets race teams operating within tight rules governing non-standard parts, as well as road riders wanting more from their original equipment forks. The ‘easy to install' kits are hugely accessible and slot straight in most standard sportsbike front forks. Chris Witter, Business Development Manager, Öhlins Racing UK commented, "Congratulations to Sam and the GNS team, they've put a fantastic Championship season together. We've had great feedback from them plus other Supersport and Superstock teams in the continuing development process. We now look to the Superbike series as Tommy Hill, Josh Brookes, Ryuichi Kiyonari and Michael Rutter fly the Öhlins flag!"