Superbike Racing
D&B Racing then made the switch to Superbike and asked Ellison to go with them, and in 2000 they contensted the British Superbike Cup, Ellison learning his trade on a kit Honda VTR-1000 SP-1. 2001 brought in more consistent results and a hard earned 12th place in the overall British Superbike Championship.
In 2002, equipped with a factory Ducati along with support from Ducati Corse, Ellison had an exciting year getting to grips with the Ducati and putting in some impressive results. At the end of 2002 he was tenth in the British Superbike Championship and was desperate to get racing again in 2003. During the off season Ellison continued to race - taking in Supermoto, motocross and endurance racing, simply to keep on a bike and improve his riding.
2003 brought mixed emotions with top 10 results (most notably the May Bank Holiday round at Oulton) in British and World Superbike rounds and the frustration of mechanical gremlins and lack of power against the opposition.
At the beginning of 2004 Dean was left without a British Superbike ride after D&B Racing pulled out at the last minute. He was asked to help Phase One retain the World Endurance Championship, which Ellison had helped them win in 2003. By March 2004 Ellison had started developing Yamaha's brand new R1 in preparation for the first race in April. Along the way he competed for RP Bikes Suzuki in the British Superstock Championship, and for IRT Honda in the World Supersport.
In 2005 he took over his brother's former ride in the Jentin Racing Yamaha BSB team, without the same success. He left mid-season to join the Slingshot Racing team. His 2006 season with the SMT Honda team was wrecked by a crash at Oulton Park in which Dean picked up a serious knee injury.
For 2007 he raced one of Donato Pedercini's Ducatis in the Superbike World Championship, usually well down the order. Due to lack of power his season was plagued with mechanical failures.
He returned to Britain for 2008, aboard the Co-ordit Yamaha. Ellison missed the rescheduled Brands Hatch round after a high speed horror crash at Oulton Park. He took his first double point scoring finish of the season at Donington Park whilst still riding injured.
Read more about this topic: Dean Ellison
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