Craig Jones (motorcycle racer)
Craig Jones (born 16 January 1985 in Crewe, Cheshire, England; † August 4, 2008 in London) was a British motorcycle racer.
Jones, called Jonesy, was considered one of the greatest talents in the British motorcycle sport and was known for his spectacular driving style and his great dedication on the bike and its friendly character. His favorite was the start number 18
Craig Jones crashed 3 August 2008 at the Supersport World Championship race at Brands Hatch hard and died a few hours later of his injuries.
- 3.1 External links
- 3.2 Notes and references
Career
Craig Jones was in 1996, at the age of eleven years, impressive achievements in the national Junior Mini -Moto Championship. He won all eight races in which he started after he had previously each also secured the pole position. In 1999 and 2000 he raced in the British Superteen Championship. 2002 Jones won the British Junior Superstock Championship team in Roundstone Suzuki, the following year he raced in the British Supersport Championship for Triumph Valmoto. 2004 Jones won the same team his first BSS run and finished eighth in the overall standings. He also made his debut this season in the Supersport World Championship, in which he denied the race in Valencia and Silverstone.
For the 2005 season, Craig Jones moved to North Point Honda, where he drove a CBR 600 and was considered one of the championship contender in the British Supersport series. The Brit reached seven podium finishes and was behind Leon Camier runner-up. In the world championship Jones played three races. At Silverstone he qualified for the front row, but had to abandon the race due to a problem with the clutch. In Brno, Czech Republic, he reached sixth place, at Brands Hatch, he was eighth and finished the season by starting in 17th.
Superbike World Championship
Due to his achievements Craig Jones has been committed for the 2006 season from the Foggy Petronas team of four -time world champion Carl Fogarty for the Superbike World Championship. The motorcycle used, the Petronas FP1, equipped with a 900 cc three- cylinder engine, but was inferior to the Japanese and Italian competition. The Briton collected in 24 races, only three World Championship points and finished the season in 27th place overall.
Supersport World Championship
2007 Craig Jones played on a Honda CBR 600 RR Honda Racing Team REVE Ekerold his first full Supersport World Championship season. He rose continuously throughout the growing season and reached two second and one third place three podiums and a pole position in Vallelunga, Italy. With 94 points from Jones finished the season in fifth place overall.
For the 2008 season Craig Jones joined the team Parkalgar Racing, where he again drove a Honda. The Brit reached, despite a hand fracture, which he had sustained in a crash at Monza, in the first half of the season three podiums. It seemed only a matter of time before he would celebrate his first victory. On August 3, 2008 at the ninth round of the season at Brands Hatch, Craig Jones had an accident and died a few hours later of his injuries. In the race, which was canceled because of his fall, Jones was considered a second and thus to the seventh -place in the championship.
Fatal Accident
On the race course at Brands Hatch prevailed time of the accident 3 August 2008 unstable weather conditions. The Supersport World Championship race had to be stopped after eight rounds due to rain and was launched a short time later as a wet race again.
In the seventh round of the second run Craig Jones was on partially damp track directly behind the Northern Irishman Jonathan Rea in second place, as in the fast right-hander Clark Curve, when turning on the start and finish straight, the rear wheel of his Honda broke out. Jones, who tried in vain to catch the sliding motorcycle, was thrown to the pavement and hit the front wheel of the directly following Australian Andrew Pitt, who could no longer dodge the head. Craig Jones withdrew it a traumatic brain injury and remained motionless on the slopes lie. The race was then canceled and treated Jones. The Briton had to be revived four times in route Hospital and was then taken in critical condition to the Royal London Hospital. A few hours later, on 4 August 2008, at 0:32 clock, Craig Jones died from his head injuries.
Honors
In November 2008, a plot of the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, Portugal was named after Craig Jones. In October 2009, a five -ton monument to him was unveiled at the main entrance to the circuit.