Call : 07593594653 Email : sammcfarlaneracing@hotmail.co.uk Visit : www.smr115.com

Sponsors for 2018

Without sponsors, racing consistently at my level would be extremely difficult to do.

My thanks go to the following personal and MSG team sponsors who have made a valuable contribution to my racing season in 2018.

Sponsor details available at SMR115.COM

Welcome

I am Sam Mcfarlane, 29 years old and from Northamptonshire. When I am not working as a train engineer, I am following my all time goal racing motorbikes. Now in my 5th year racing, I am living the dream.

2018 has been a positive year so far. After upgrading to and learning about the new Suzuki GSX-R1000 L7 with MSG Racing last year, this year has been an amazing experience in the Thundersport GB GP1 Sportsman competition.

Some big achievements have been accomplished this year, winning a team endurance race with Team Host-It, my first ever Thundersport win at Mallory Park including several fastest lap in class accolades and mounting a serious challenge for the championship. However, I, along with the team, have identified areas where we know we can improve and I am looking forward to working on these for the remaining rounds of 2018 and in 2019.

Such a productive and positive year though has come at a cost. The vast majority of my racing is self funded, but I also have the added benefit of sponsors providing financial funding, racing support and useful offers for parts. All of this makes a difference and we have shown what we are capable of doing with good support.

I am now looking forward to 2019 and building on the success of this year and am looking for sponsors to help with this goal.

Sponsorship can be in the form of financial funding, equipment, parts, tools, discounted items or even something we can offer as a prize that will showcase your company.

If you're looking for a larger team-based sponsorship, you can sponsor the MSG Racing team - please contact us to discuss this.

In this booklet, you’ll find out why I need sponsorship, the ways you can help and what we can offer to you. Then there are all the race reports so far from 2018.

Thank you for reading and we hope to hear from you!

About Sam Mcfarlane and MSG Racing

How it started

I've always loved bikes, BSB and MotoGP. My Dad has always had bikes and I used to use my his old knee sliders and be out in the street trying to get my knee down on my push bike. I also used to go to a lot of BSB rounds, but I just never had the funds to buy a bike or try riding until I started working as a train engineer.

In 2012, a work colleague suggested attending the Chris Walker Race School, so I booked on and went along. After that I participated in some trackdays before I started racing in 2013.

Racing & bike summary

2013 SRAD 600 in the No Limits Racing Newcomers 600 competition.

2014 Suzuki GSX-R 600 K7 in the No Limits Newcomers 600 competition

2015 Suzuki GSX-R 600 K9 in the No Limits Super Series and later joined the Thundersport Thundersport GB Pre-National Sport 600 competitions.

2016 In the Thundersport GB 600 competition.

2017 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 L7, in the Thundersport GB GP1 Sportsman competition.

2018 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 L7, in the Thundersport GB GP1 Sportsman competition.

About MSG Racing

MSG Racing was setup in 2002 by Gavin Reed, a former racer himself, after seeing many young talented riders struggling financially and/or lacking experience. The original idea was to give assistance to naturally talented riders who wouldn't normally get a chance. This idea is still the principle of the MSG racing team today. From working with 1 rider in the mid-2000s, it has steadily grown and the simple format of good people, good bikes and good riders has worked well over the years with many championship wins. With racing in the family, Gavin also has a workshop. Working alongside his partner Lisa, they cover all aspects of bike maintenance from day to day routine maintenance to more advanced maintenance, performance tuning and bike preparation.

How I started racing with MSG

I needed some parts for my 3rd bike, the GSX-R 600 K7, and MSG was recommended to me. So I started buying parts from Gavin Reed (Gav) and nothing was ever an issue. He also lent me some parts to get me out of trouble when I crashed at a race at Brands Hatch and ended up using him more and more. He also helped with bike setup on my GSX-R 600 K9 race bike at Silverstone and I had probably the best race of that season. Gav suggested the class I was racing in wasn't doing me any favours and invited me to come along to Rockingham in 2015 to race in the Thundersport pre-national 600s and he's been stuck with me ever since!

Why do I need sponsorship?

My racing is largely self funded and through being a member of the MSG Racing team, I am fortunate enough to have MSG owner, Gavin, and his partner Lisa helping me to achieve what we (as a team) do and making the year possible the best they can. Together we have the tools and skills, we just need some additional resources to help make it happen.

Just to give you an idea of the costs involved in racing, here are some of the racing costs for the 8 Thundersport rounds in 2018:

Race entrance fees £2072Test day fees £1040Tyres £4800Fuel £1200Brake pads £ 440Oil/filters £ 560Official Timing Equipment £ 200

Annual fees:

Club Membership £ 120ACU License Membership £ 48

This list is just the cost to race at an event. It doesn’t include include costs for track days or testing days before a round, transportation costs, any necessary repairs, maintenance, any equipment or parts needed before going to a race weekend or photographs.

There are ways I look at savings, for instance using older tyres where possible, but this is not always ideal and experience has shown this year, that to race with the best, we need to be on new tyres for each race.

Throughout the years, sponsors have made a huge difference and in 2017 and 2018 have helped me have some of my best years so far.

Sponsorship options

Season sponsors or sponsor a round

You can make a difference on race days, with your sponsorship going towards race fees, testing fees, fuel and tyres. You will have your company logo displayed on the bike and/or leathers for a specific round or the entire season. We’ll photograph the bike showing your support and promote you through our social media and digital network. We can also provide tickets and welcome you down in the paddock to meet the team and see the bike personally.

Sponsor the tyres or fuel

You can provide sponsorship specifically for tyres or fuel for a race or an entire round or more. We will announce this on our social media, website and in the race report. As with all sponsorships, we’ll photograph the bike showing your support and and give some social media exposure. We can also provide tickets and welcome you in the paddock to meet the team and see the bike personally.

Sponsor some parts

For non-financial funding, we'd be most interested in offers for parts, equipment, tools or discounted items for use on race weekends. Again we will provide exposure on the bike, social media and our website.

Personal sponsors

It's not just companies that can sponsor, we love personal sponsors too. We are continuing the Fast 50 club for 2019.

We're looking for 50 people to sponsor me for £50 (or multiples of £50). Just pick a number (or numbers) between 1-50. Your name name will be on the leathers and the more numbers you take the bigger the print. You will also be entitled to tickets for a round of your choice and will be welcome to join us in the paddock.

What we can offer

Our goal is to become your ambassadors, raising awareness and promoting your company, brand, products and services throughout the season. Ultimately we want you to benefit from this partnership by helping you reach new or more customers or markets and making a positive impact to your business.

Some of the ways we can promote you are:

● Your company name & logo on our website, including a links to your site.● Have your logo featured on the visor, leathers, the bike or the van. ● Promotion on our social media accounts and in all race reports.● Promotion or recommendations of your products or services on race days and on social

media.

Exhibition and promotional assistance

We would also want to provide practical ways to promote you and your business. Some of the ways we can do this are:

● Attending an exhibition alongside you to promote your products or services.● Trialling and reporting on new products or services that you might be working on.● Distributing leaflets or brochures for your company at race meetings and making them

available on our website/social media.● Are you wanting to make some kind of advertisement that needs a motorcycle and/or

racer?● If you have a social media promotion, we can share and advertise that on our social media

to increase your audience.● Do you support a charity? We would be happy to look at ways to raise awareness for your

cause and discuss ways that we can make a difference for your support.● We also have advertising space on the van used for transport to and from racing circuits

and can be seen on our travels around the UK and also when in private use.

All sponsorship packages are unique and tailored to your needs. The options listed are just some of the things we can do and we're more than willing to discuss other ways we can help you get the most out of the partnership.

Please get in touch

Are you are interested in sponsoring me or the MSG team?Do you want to discuss various options and benefits?Simply have a question about sponsorship or want more information?

Please contact us in one of the following ways:

Telephone : 07593594653

Email : sammcfarlaneracing@hotmail.co.uk

Facebook : facebook.com/sammcfarlaneracing

Website : www.smr115.com

2018 RacingRace reports

Donington ParkThundersport Round 1

23/24/25 March 2018

Preparation for the new season was a hectic and crazy affair. But I rocked up at Donington Friday, but man flued up and wasn’t feeling great.

TEST DAYGood first time back on the bike in a fair few months, but feeling quite drained it was some work to try get used to the beasty L7 again.

QUALIFYING - 6THOn the Saturday morning, after rain all night, we had to throw the wets in but the track was way too dry. I managed about 3/4 laps and pulled in as we were killing a wet but didn’t have time to fit in a dry tyre.

RACE 1 - 5THI fitted some dry rubber and got off to a good start but just didn’t have the energy to go race distance and was dropping back off the pace mid race.

FREE PRACTICE - 1STSunday morning after a few early nights I felt slightly better but think I used more energy than I should have.

RACE 2 - 6THGot a good start again and was looking to make up on race 1 but seemed to be struggling with the bike and was loosing power on full throttle.

RACE 3 - DNFThe loss of power was noticeable from the start. After trying for a few laps I had to pull in. I did not want to cause any damage to the bike so early on in the season but leaving me with a DNF.

Top 3 photos by Kerry Rawson PhotographyBottom 2 photos by Ian Boldy Superbike Photography

Oulton ParkThundersport Round 2

20/21 April 2018

At a test day at Oulton Park on 11th April, we worked on improving the traction settings. The bike felt better and better each ride and was looking forward to round 2 on 21st April at Oulton Park.

TEST DAYGood day and I was confident to push on for the race weekend. But after killing 2 rear scrubs I had to miss the last session.

QUALIFYING – 4THWas Saturday morning on a day that was getting warmer by the hour. Completed 9 laps and finished 4th in class, putting me on row 8 for race 1.

RACE 1 - DNFI got off to a good start, but there was an incident at Hislops. I managed to avoid the carnage, however someone behind me went into the back of me and shortly after, fuel was coming out, so pulled off for a DNF. So disappointed in the double-point race.

RACE 2 - 5THAfter help from the MSG team, the bike was back and ready to race. Had a good start and was determined to get some points after race 1. I was cruising in 3rd place (in class) for most of the latter part of the race. But in the last lap, I tried to put a bit of space between me and 4th place and made an error over-running into Hislops, which allowed Gary Woodward and Robert Smith to pass me, getting 3rd/4th which pushed me into 5th place.

Top 3 photos by Tony Gonzo TylerBottom 2 photos by Kerry Rawson Photography

Cadwell ParkBemsee Round

27/28/29 April 2018

In preparation for the next Thundersport race weekend, I decided to take part in a Bemsee round at Cadwell Park. The weather was pretty dire, meaning most races were yellow or red flagged at some point. Conditions were crazy, with standing water on the track and after a few crashes some petrol/oil patches were making the track pretty hazardous.

QUALIFYING - 11THDefinitely an experience, I managed 5 laps, but because of the weather conditions, I couldn’t see out the visor. However, managed to qualify and finished 21st/11th in class, putting me on row 7 for race 1.

RACE 1 - 8THWith no spare visor, I had to tweak the one I had for Race 1. I also borrowed some wheels, but the disc size was different so the sensor spacing was out, causing the traction to turn off during the race. However the conditions were pretty bad, so just got through the race without pushing on too much.

RACE 2 - 4THOn the Sunday and I started from row 5 on the grid. Conditions had improved over night, I had worked on the bike setup and had a good race, going from 15th to 9th in the last lap, which meant a 4th place finish in the clubman class.

RACE 3 - 3RDI started on row 4 on the grid. Because of late running and a flag, the race was reduced from 9 to a 7 lap race. I had a pretty good race and finished 9th overall, picking up a bonus 3rd place trophy in the clubman class. I could have pushed on a bit more but it was only a preparation weekend for the next Thundersport round.

Photos by R&L Photography

Donington ParkNo Limits 6 Hour Endurance

19 May 2018

I had the chance to dip my feet in the No Limits 6 hour endurance race thanks to host-it.co.uk. I received a message to see if I could help out and it's always good to go back to the paddock where it all started. The team consisted of Andrew Bishop, Martin Platt, Grant Berry (Rad) and of course myself in the Clubman 1000 class.

QUALIFYING – 3RDQualifying got underway with Andrew the team boss doing the first run, Platty in 2nd then myself with orders to do 4 laps and pit (I sorta lost count and did 6 laps – not being used to a pit board) then Rad did the last stint we qualified 12th out of 37, 3rd in the clubman class.

ENDURANCE RACE – 1STRace start was some eye opener for sure! I helped Rad on the start, held the bike and gave him a push - he really is a ginger missile almost taking me with him! With some proper stamina he did close to an hour for his first stint putting us 1st in class.

Second out and steady away, I was quite enjoying it lap after lap but it was a red hot day and I started to dry out rapidly managing 35 mins, but all at a fair pace so I think we were about a lap and a half up by 90 mins in. Then followed Andy and Mav holding the lead.

The ginger machine took to his second stint and the red flags came out due to a big oil spill. After some waiting around and the way the red flag fell we were back down to just 1 lap lead, so when the 3 laps behind the safety car were complete on race start Rad managed to hold the gap.

My second stint came and I tried for constant quicker lap times after seeing what the team in 2nd was doing and again only managed about 35 minutes and think we were about 2 laps up when I pitted and Andrew did his final stint keeping us in front and Platty took the final stint, although our team went missing on TSL and it was a scary few mins, but we were watching Platty pass pit lane and we still had the lead and was fairly healthy.

The chequered flag dropped and we had done it! Position 7 from 37 teams and Position 1 in class!!

Cadwell ParkThundersport Round 3

26/27/28 May 2018

TESTINGThe test day on Saturday was good. Steady away and put some good laps in, but had a coolant hose clip fail in the session just after lunch dumping water over the rear tyre at charlie 2! Thankfully got a new clip sorted and back out in the next session where all was good again. I missed the last session of the day to save any unnecessary spills as I was happy with the bike setup.

QUALIFYING - 3RDSunday morning was let’s say it was manic!! It was a very busy grid this weekend and I got stuck in a lot of traffic, but qualified 19th from 37 and 3rd in class.

RACE 1 - 2NDI got off to a wicked start and managed to stay with the front group for a lap or 2 before they pulled away. 12 laps of Cadwell is some work that’s for sure, so tried to pace myself. With nobody to follow and a fair gap between me and anyone in front I had nothing to chase so kept it consistent and brought it home in 14th and 2nd in class with consistent laps of 35s.

RACE 2 - 3RDIt felt like my leg got hot on the grid as I started so lost a lot of time checking the bike up coppice and round Charlie’s 1-2 but all was fine. Probably just the demon in my head, so I had a few steady laps.

Eventually got into a rhythm and began to chase the lads in front and sat behind team mate Will Harper for a fair few laps, planning to make a pass on the final lap but also trying not to force anyone into a mistake as he’s still the higher team member in the championship. When I lined my move in the final 2 corners he got quite defensive so had to settle for 3rd.

RACE 3 - 2NDIn the afternoon, I got a brilliant start again and with a new tyre I instantly made places from 19th on the grid and again followed the lead bunch as long as possible but they got away and it left me on my own again with no one to chase and with not much danger from behind I just managed the race as I needed to.

Photos by Kerry Rawson Photographybottom photo by Robert Diplock.

Mallory ParkThundersport Round 4

21/23-24 May 2018

TESTINGStarted the test day and finished in the mid 54s on old tyres but consistent. In the afternoon I tried to run race lengths to see how we would cope.

QUALIFYING - 2NDWent out aiming for a good grid position this weekend. The bike was performing well and nothing had really changed since we were at Cadwell Park. Qualified 2nd in class, so was happy to be in row 4 for race 1.

RACE 1 - 2NDGot a cracking start and was in 6th by turn 1 and was chasing the front pack but they just pulled away. There was a crash at the hairpin about 2 laps in and another at edwinas which upset my pace. I lost a few places and I was tired towards the end but brought it back in 8th overall and 2nd in class.

RACE 2 - 1STI knew I had the pace to win the class and that I could push on to the front runners, as the bike was feeling wicked. Another good start making a handful of places off the line, confidence was high but another crash meant I had to roll off the throttle and lost 3 places overall. However, I knew I was P1 in class so bought it home. This race was shorter than race 1 but felt like a life time! It was incredibly hot out and with Mallory being so small, there’s no rest at all if your not sliding out of a corner your sliding in. Finished 8th again and my first race win in class, with consistent 53s so was very happy. I also got the fastest lap in the class.

RACE 3 - 1STMy start wasn’t as good as it had been but I managed to up my game and push on. I followed Michael Austin for about 9 laps trying to see where I was stronger or weaker, but I could see the others infront coming in, so I made the pass and tried to put the hammer down to catch Brendon and Rory but the last lap flag was out and it was too late. Mega happy to drop into the 52s. Also the fastest lap in the class again!!!!

Photos by Tony Gonzo Tylerbottom photo by C S Knowles Photography

Brands HatchThundersport Round 5

27/28/29 July 2018

TESTINGFriday was the test day. By the time our first session hit the track at 10am, the temperatures were mad hot. Did my 1st session and instantly into the 49s so was feeling very positive on old tyres, decided to miss the 2nd session and go out in number 3 and again instantly into the low 49s so decided to do a session after lunch and call it a day. So happy with the bike and set up I was more than confident with the weekend on a track I’ve never done well at.

QUALIFYING - 1STWith the confidence high and a new front tyre and scrub rear I set off looking for another low 49 time which came instantly again. Even in traffic we could keep a good pace so pulled in to check where we were and P1 in class and 10th in the elite half a second faster than P2 I settled for that, happy with the bike and knew we had so much more to give.

RACE 1 - 1STI got a good start and pretty much held 7th majority of the race 1st in class running 48s consistently. I knew we had the win just pushed to improve them elite finishes. Had a good battle with Rory Parker the whole race, but didn’t want to risk a pass and make a mistake I took the sportsman win and 7th in the elite, Will Harper Racing taking P2 in class it was an MSG 1-2 happy with that, also fastest lap in the sportsman class.

RACE 2 - 5THRace 2 on Sunday was wet. The mega laps had me starting on row 3 and P8 for Sunday’s racing but a horrible start saw me way down the field after lots of spin off the line. I managed to pull a lot of places back but just lacking that little extra in the wet (myself). The bike was mint but with limited wet time and a desperate need for points I had to settle for 5th in class P8 in the elite.

RACE 3 - 5THStill wet and there were a lot of crashes during the day and the marshals worked like mad mopping the track and treating big spills. Just knocked that confidence in the wet more, so again I just had to salvage points and finished 5th in class and P12 elite.

Photos by Kerry Rawson Photography

AngleseyThundersport Round 6

25/26/27 August 2018

TESTINGTesting on Saturday with it being a bank holiday weekend this time out and got a few good sessions in. After talks with Michelin in the morning they asked if we would be willing to test their new tyres for the final 2 sessions of the day.

QUALIFYING - 7THThe race was wet and windy - quite a miserable day to say the least and after killing my wets at Brands and spending all my money on slicks we only had what we had, so qualified 15th and 7th in class not where we wanted to be.

RACE 1 - 6THAgain wet and on a very worn wet tyres, we managed to finish 12th and 6th in class. It was a very rough race with rear grip almost none existent! Was just happy for the points.

RACE 2 - DNFGot an average start, but left myself some work to do on lap 1 then starting lap 2 got cleaned out into rocket. Not actually sure how, but was not happy to say the least as I’d just got up to 2nd in class and was chasing for 1st!

RACE 3 - DNFAfter the team worked so hard to rebuild the bike with a new subframe and both footrests needing to be replaced. I was still hurt from the first race and there wasn't much movement in my left foot but we needed the points. Got a poor start and really struggling with direction change, I was slowly working my way up the pack again almost in tears every direction and gear change, but just needed some strong points. But I was taken out again into turn 2 about 3/4 laps in! Me and the bike again being in a mess.

Photos by Neil Moxon

Points TableThundersport GP1 Sportsman

Find out more about Thundersport GB at www.thundersportgb.com

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Please get in touch

Are you are interested in sponsoring me or the MSG team?Want to know more about my racing?Want to keep up to date on social media?

Please follow or contact us in one of the following ways:

Facebook : facebook.com/sammcfarlaneracing

Telephone : 07593594653

Email : sammcfarlaneracing@hotmail.co.uk

Website : www.smr115.com