Craig Jones (motorcycle racer) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Craig Jones was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

motorcycle racer. He grew up in the town of Northwich

Northwich

Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...

and attended Charles Darwin Primary School and later Hartford High School

Hartford High School

Hartford High School is a comprehensive secondary school on Chester Road in Hartford, Cheshire, for students aged between eleven and sixteen. The school is unique in having dual specialist college status in both languages and sports...

Biography

Born in Crewe

Crewe

Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...

, Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

Craig grew up in Northwich and remained there until later in his career he moved to Peterborough

Peterborough

Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...

. Jones was a successful racer in the lower ranks of the British motorcycling ladder winning the 1996 British Junior Mini-Moto Championship, the 1997 British Senior Mini-Moto Championship and the 2002 British Junior Superstock Championship before moving up to the British Supersport Championship

British Supersport Championship

British Supersport Championship is a support series to the British Superbike Championship , British Supersport runs one round a weekend at each BSB event. The BSS championship is seen as a stepping stone for the younger talent to go up to the British Superbike Championship...

.

In 2002 Jones rode in trials at the Isle of Man TT Races for the Triumph Motorcycles/Valmoto team on a Daytona 600

Triumph Daytona 600

The Triumph Daytona 600 is a name given to two very different motorcycles.The first model was a sport bike manufactured in 1983 by Triumph Motorcycles out of their Meriden factory...

. Jones subsequently stayed with this team to compete in the 2003 and 2004 seasons of the British Supersport Championship, with Jones taking the team's only win in its final race, at Donington Park

Donington Park

Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...

. Jones finished the 2004 season eighth in the overall standings.

In 2005 Jones has his best year in the British Supersport Championship riding for the Northpoint Honda team, achieving seven podium finishes and second overall in the title contest behind Leon Camier

Leon Camier

Leon Stuart Camier is a British motorcycle racer from Ashford, Kent, currently living in Bournemouth. He is the 2009 British Superbike Champion and previously won the 2005 British Supersport title. 2010 is his first season in the World Superbike series.-Personal life:Camier is the son of David and...

. Jones' riding that year earned him wildcard entry into the two British rounds of World Supersport, where he performed impressively. Jones qualified on the front row at Silverstone

Silverstone Circuit

Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...

and was contesting the lead when he pulled out of the race with clutch problems, and he finished eighth at Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...

. Jones was also called up as a stand-in rider for the prestigious Ten Kate Honda

Ten Kate Racing

Ten Kate Racing is a motorbike racing team, currently competing in the Superbike World Championship and the Supersport World Championship under the name Hannspree Ten Kate Honda.- Foundation :...

team at Brno

Brno

Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...

, where he finished sixth.

Jones moved up to the Superbike World Championship

Superbike World Championship

Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities...

for the 2006 season

2006 Superbike World Championship season

The 2006 Superbike World Championship season was the 19th F.I.M. Superbike World Championship season. The season started on February 25 at Losail, and finished on October 8 at Magny-Cours after 12 rounds and 24 races...

on the uncompetitive Foggy Petronas FP1. A solitary thirteenth place at Imola

Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is an auto racing circuit near the Italian town of Imola, east of Bologna and east of the Ferrari factory in Maranello....

was his only points finish in the championship.

In 2007

2007 Supersport World Championship season

The 2007 Supersport World Championship season was the 9th F.I.M. Supersport World Championship season. The season started on February 24 at Losail and finished on October 7 at Magny-Cours after 13 rounds. Kenan Sofuoğlu won the riders' championship with a record 8 wins...

, Jones returned to the Supersport World Championship category for his first season as a full-time supersport rider, riding with the Reve Ekerold Honda team. Jones suffered many technical problems early in the season, and crashed out of the lead at Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch

, but a took podiums at Brno

Masaryk Circuit

The Masaryk circuit or Masarykring, now referred to as the Brno Circuit, refers two Czech racing circuits located close to the city of Brno.The original circuit was made up of public roads, and at its longest measured nearly...

, and in the season's final two rounds Vallelunga

ACI Vallelunga Circuit

The Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi is a racing circuit situated north of Rome, Italy, near Vallelunga of Campagnano. Vallelunga was built as a sand oval in 1959. From 1963 the circuit held the Rome Grand Prix, and in 1967 a new loop was added when the track became the property of the...

and Magny-Cours

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some 250 km from Paris...

. At Vallelunga he was leading when the red flag was thrown, but lost the race to Kenan Sofuoğlu

Kenan Sofuoglu

Kenan Sofuoğlu is a Turkish professional motorcycle racer. He currently competes in Moto2 for the Technomag-CIP team, having made his debut at the end of and will remain with the team for the season...

as the Turkish rider was leading the last completed lap. The podium at Magny-Cours moved him up from 7th to 5th in the final standings.

For 2008

2008 Supersport World Championship season

The 2008 Supersport World Championship season was the 10th F.I.M. Supersport World Championship season. The season started on February 23 at Losail and finished on November 2 at Portimão after 13 rounds...

, Jones remained in Supersport, with his team now managed by Simon Buckmaster, and added three more podiums including the season-opener at Losail and again at Valencia

Circuit de Valencia

Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also known as Circuit de Valencia and officially named Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, is a motorsport race track located in Cheste and built in 1999. It has a capacity of 120,000 spectators and seating for 60,000...

after an intense battle with Fabien Foret

Fabien Foret

Fabien Foret born in Angoulême, France, is a professional motorcycle racer currently competing in the Supersport World Championship. As of the end of 2008, he has had 24 podium finishes including 11 wins, and 12 pole positions...

. Despite missing the Monza race with a hand injury, and despite the race at Brno (where he was at the front of the race until he had technical problems, just two laps before the end of the race), he was sixth in the championship before his ultimately tragic home round at Brands Hatch

Brands Hatch

Death

Jones died as a result of head injuries sustained in a fall and subsequent collision during the Brands Hatch round of the 2008 Supersport World Championship season

2008 Supersport World Championship season

.

The fall occurred at Clark Curve, a fast right-hand turn that leads into the home straight of the Brands Hatch circuit. At the time of the fall, Jones was in second position and challenging Jonathan Rea

Jonathan Rea

Jonathan 'Johnny' Rea is a motorcycle racer, currently competing in the Superbike World Championship for Castrol Honda. He was runner-up in the Supersport World Championship for the Ten Kate Honda team in 2008, and runner-up in the British Superbike Championship in 2007 for the HM Plant Honda team...

for the lead. As Jones accelerated out of the curve the rear wheel of his Honda CBR600RR

Honda CBR600RR

The Honda CBR600RR is a sport motorcycle that was introduced by Honda in 2003 as a race replica version of Honda's CBRFx series motorcycles. It won every Supersport World Championship title from 2002 to 2008.- Racing roots :...

lost traction and he was thrown across the track into the path of oncoming riders. The Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n rider Andrew Pitt attempted to take evasive action, but the front wheel and the footrest of his machine collided with Jones' helmet.

The race was immediately stopped by officials so that medical personnel could attend to Jones, and he was taken to the Brands Hatch medical center where Clinica Mobile doctors resuscitated

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency procedure which is performed in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person in cardiac arrest. It is indicated in those who are unresponsive...

him on four occasions. He was air-lifted by the Kent Air Ambulance to the Royal London Hospital

Royal London Hospital

The Royal London Hospital was founded in September 1740 and was originally named The London Infirmary. The name changed to The London Hospital in 1748 and then to The Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The first patients were treated at a house in Featherstone Street,...

. Jones' condition was assessed as 'extremely critical' upon his arrival and he was induced into a pharmacological coma by doctors in an attempt to stabilise his condition. This intervention was unsuccessful and Jones was pronounced dead by doctors shortly after 00.30 local time on 4 August 2008. As Jones was running second in the race at the time of the race stoppage, he moved up to fifth in the championship. Fellow racers Tommy Hill

Tommy Hill

Tommy Hill is a British motorcycle road racer, he was born 9 February 1985 in Beckenham, Kent. His greatest success has come in the British Superbike Championship, in which he is the 2011 Champion, but he has also contested the World Superbike and World Supersport championships.-Personal:Hill's...

and James Toseland

James Toseland

James Michael Toseland is a former English motorcycle racer. Toseland was the World Superbike Champion on a Ten Kate Honda, who also won the Superbike World Championship on a Ducati. He is one of only two men, the other being Troy Corser, to have won the Superbike World Championship for two...

were at his bedside as he died.

Four-time world champion and former team boss of Jones, Carl Fogarty

Carl Fogarty

Carl 'Foggy' Fogarty is the most successful World Superbike racer of all time in terms of the number of championships and number of race wins...

, said that "Craig was one of a crop of good young riders who were the future of British racing and I took a chance on him to ride for our team in 2006 because I thought he was the pick of the bunch."

Tributes

The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve

Autódromo Internacional do Algarve

The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve commonly referred to as Portimao Circuit is a race circuit located in Portimão, Portugal. With a total cost of €195 million , the project includes a karting track, technology park, five-star hotel, sports complex and apartments.Construction was finished in...

in Portimão

Portimão

Portimão is a Portuguese town located in the District of Faro in the Region of Algarve, the southern coast of Portugal. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão . In 1924, it was incorporated as a cidade and became known merely as Portimão. The town has 41,000 inhabitants and the Portimão...

, whose owners are also involved in Jones' Parkalgar Honda team, has named a corner on the track after Jones.

British Superbike rider Cal Crutchlow

Cal Crutchlow

Cal Crutchlow is a professional motorcycle road racer. He is a former British Supersport champion and British Superbike race winner, and the 2009 Supersport World Champion.-Early years:...

raced in one of Jones' spare helmets at the BSB meeting at Knockhill a week later.

On 14 March 2009, Eugene Laverty

Eugene Laverty

Eugene Laverty is a professional motorcycle road racer, the brother of Michael and John. In 2008 he has competed in both the 250cc World Championship and the World Supersport series, he went on to be runner up in the World Supersport Championship in both 2009 and the 2010 seasons.In 2011 he moved...

won for Parkalgar at Losail in World Supersport. His bike carried a small decal of Jones' #18, and in the post-race interview Laverty dedicated the win to Jones, crediting the work he had done in making the team competitive.

On 17 August 2008, James Toseland rode the Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix

2008 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix

The 2008 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix was the twelfth round of the 2008 MotoGP Championship. It took place on the weekend of 15 -August 17, 2008 at the Masaryk Circuit located in Brno.-MotoGP classification:-250cc classification:...

with a black armband and carried Jones' number 18 on his fairing to express his sadness.

On 7 September 2008 Tommy Hill

Tommy Hill

rode Jones' bike around one lap of Donington Park

Donington Park

in remembrance of his friend, while carrying the English flag. The marshalls also waved their flags.

Craig Jones memorial at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve

On 2009, October 22, a tribute ceremony occurred, with the exhibition of a provisional statue, created by the Portuguese sculptress Paula Hespanha, representing Craig Jones on his motorbike after passing the finishing line. This statue will be the main part of a monument

Monument

A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...

, already partially built, which also includes the architectural arrangement of the main access roundabout to the racetrack, created by Paula Hespanha and Portuguese architect Manuel Pedro Ferreira Chaves.
This monument is a landscape

Landscape

Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...

sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

, representing the main straight of a racing circuit, which extends up to the car park of the main grandstand. This large-scale artistic intervention serves to frame the statue but will also be useful as an access that will allow pedestrian approach to the statue.
The owner of Autódromo Internacional do Algarve

Autódromo Internacional do Algarve

and Parkalgar racing team, Paulo Pinheiro, declared: "it is a very special thanks to Craig Jones who will be forever immortalized in our memories. This tribute will keep alive the admiration and respect for the work of Craig in the motorcycling world ". "This monument will ensure that Craig Jones will never be forgotten."

The inauguration of the marble

Marble

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

and stainless steel

Stainless steel

In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....

statue was expected to occur in 2010. If completed in 2011, this will be the only stone statue in the world representing a motorbike.

External links

Craig Jones - obituary and public tribute
3D preview of the Craig Jones Memorial, partially built, in the main access of the Algarve Motor Park
“Craig Jones remembered with statue honor” in Algarve resident (30-Oct-2009) http://www.algarveresident.com/story.asp?ID=34597
“Craig Jones memorial removed” in Algarve resident (05-Nov-2009) http://www.algarveresident.com/story.asp?ID=34713 ”Paula Hespanha expõe estátua de Craig Jones” in Jornal Hardmusica (Out. 2009) http://www.hardmusica.pt/noticia_detalhe.php?cd_noticia=3352 “Memorial Craig Jones em Portimão” in Atrox Mobilis – Motos e Mobilidade (22-Out-2009) (contains a 3D preview of the Craig Jones Memorial) http://rogermotard.wordpress.com/2009/10/22/memorial-craig-jones-em-portimao/

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