Simon Andrews dies after crash at 2014 North West 200

By Dan Moakes
May 20 2014

British Superbike regular Simon Andrews has died after sustaining serious injuries in the North West 200 road races at the weekend. It has been announced that the 31-year-old passed away at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, on Monday, 19th May 2014.

Simon Andrews raced in the British Superbike Championship for six years before suffering serious injury in a crash at Snetterton in 2011 that curtailed his season. He then faced a slow recovery process, and in 2012-13 turned to Endurance racing, joining the Honda TT Legends team, also continuing with a departure into road racing events. This year he was back in BSB on a Honda, but sadly an accident in the Superstock race at the North West 200 this Saturday was to cost him his life.

Simon Andrews, Jentin Racing, Yamaha YZF-R1 · photo © Graham Etheridge 2007

Simon first came into the British Championship picture in the Supersport class, where he scored a number of points finishes in 2000-01, and he then took his Honda to five podium results in 2002, including as runner-up three times. The same year he also competed in the Superstock class, with a best result of fourth, and additionally he scored some points finishes in the European series.

In 2003, Simon’s Red Piranha Yamaha was a regular top-five finisher in British Supersport, and his best result was second at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, where he also set fastest lap. This all added up to third place in the final reckoning, but it was in 2004 that he first took a race victory, which came at Mondello Park in Ireland. There were two more fastest laps, but this time several no-scores put him further down the table.

For 2005, Simon joined the TAS Suzuki team as he continued in the Supersport class, but it was a disappointing season and the only highlight was second place at Cadwell Park. This was his twelfth podium result in the class, but then it was back to a Piranha Yamaha in 2006, with his best finish being fifth place a couple of times. Later in the year he took over the Jentin Racing Yamaha for his first British Superbike outings, with a best result of eighth.

Simon continued with Jentin in 2007, appearing at the majority of BSB rounds and taking ninth place on three occasions. Another year on the Yamaha saw him crack the top six on a few occasions, scoring points for fifth at both Oulton Park and Silverstone. That meant eighth place in the 2008 championship, leading to a factory-backed ride the following season.

In 2009, with MSS Colchester Kawasaki, Simon qualified in the top seven in seven of eleven outings, starting from third place at Cadwell Park and second at Croft. He finished fourth on three occasions during the first half of the season then, after missing the Brands Hatch round with a hand injury, he was third at Cadwell after first-home Leon Camier was excluded. However, the aforementioned hand injury was the result of a crash caused by Josh Brookes at Mallory Park, where Simon had been leading at the time and was taken out by the Australian. That was the closest Simon would come to a race victory, but his season yielded a creditable sixth place overall.
His best World Superbike result as a wildcard was tenth in the ’09 season; and there was also a seventh place in the Macau Grand Prix.

2010 saw a continuation with the same team, but Simon missed several early rounds and the best he could achieve later on was sixth at Snetterton and then fourth at Croft. His best qualifying was fifth at Cadwell, and in the end he was outside the overall championship top ten. Then in 2011 he joined the BSB ‘Evo’ class with the PR Racing Kawasaki, with a stock road engine and minimal electronic aids. He took several podium results within the Evo class, but overall this meant only a handful of points for the main championship. He then missed the second half of the season after the Snetterton crash.

2011 also saw Simon competing on the Isle of Man in the Tourist Trophy road races, taking 11th position in both the Superstock and Senior TT events on BMW machinery. Post-BSB, with more injury interruptions, Simon’s best results were in the 2012 Bol d’Or 24-hour Endurance race at Magny-Cours, where he was ninth sharing the Honda with Cameron Donald and John McGuinness; and at the 2013 Oschersleben Eight Hours, sharing with McGuinness and Michael Rutter. At the 2013 TT he raced Honda machinery to 11th place in the Superstock race and 13th in the Senior. For his 2014 BSB return he appeared on one of only two Hondas in the series, racing for the RAF Reserves team.

This site offers its condolences to Simon’s family, friends and supporters. He was a talented rider and will be missed by followers of the sport in the UK and beyond.