Donald Leaves TAS Suzuki

Having recently been retained to be the team-mate of new signing Guy Martin for the 2011 season less than two weeks ago, Australian Cameron Donald has left the Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing team.

The split is said to be by mutual consent following discussions after this weekend's Macau Grand Prix, where Donald had a disappointing qualifying but finished the race in eighth place after starting from 18th on the grid.

Donald won two TTs in 2008, the Superbike and Superstock races, while riding for the Northern Irish team. 

In 2009, he crashed at Keppel Gate during the final practice session and missed the rest of the meeting and the remainder of the season with an injured shoulder. The previous Thursday evening session had seen him unofficially smash the outright lap record at over 131mph.

He has struggled to recapture that form since coming back from a long-term lay-off recovering from his injuries.

Speaking about the split, TAS team manager Philip Neill said: 'We had a largely successful relationship with Cameron during his time at Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing, and we must admit, he was a joy to work with. This is very much a joint decision and I must reiterate, there is absolutely no ill feeling. We wish him well in the future. The team is currently looking for a suitable replacement, but we will not rush our decision.'

Cameron Donald said: 'I would like to thank Hector and Philip Neill and obviously Suzuki and all of the team’s loyal sponsors for their support. We had a great partnership, but I now know it’s time to take a different direction. I also would like to thank the guys in the team who worked with me and were very much part of my success at TAS Racing this past couple of years.'