James Ellison
Cumbria native James Ellison is Britain's only representative in the 2006 MotoGP season. After racing in junior championships such as Superteen, he entered the European Superstock series in 1999, winning the title in 2000 and 2001, before racing in World Supersport and the British Superbike championship, winning the Cup for non-works riders in 2004.
He was called up midseason by the struggling (but wholely ebullient WCM team to join Yuichi Ui in their MotoGP team, and did well enough to be kept on for 2005 alongside Franco Battaini. For 2006 he switched to the Tech 3 Yamaha team, with WCM's demise leaving them as one of the few non-works teams on the grid, although the Tech-3 team get all the info they need from Yamaha and all the bikes etc as well. At Philip Island he made history as the first rider to switch bikes to change to wet tyres mid-race, although he was not successful in this race.
His comments on each race can be found on the BBC's website.
James' contract with Tech3 Yamaha has not been extended beyond the 2006 season, and he is currently without a ride in MotoGP or any other class.
External links
James's fans website can be found at http://www.ellison77.com