BSB rumour mill... Brookes to remain at PBM; plus new era in British Supersport

Paul Bird Motorsport Ducati and Buildbase Suzuki are the only two high-profile teams yet to announce their rider line-ups for the 2022 British Superbike Championship.

Josh Brookes looks set to remain with PBM VisionTrack Ducati for a fourth season, despite a disastrous title defence last year in which he scraped into the Showdown and finished sixth in the championship, without a race win and just four podiums.

In an interview with MCNews.com.au the Australian said, "We had an agreement made before the end of season last year, but I think the reason for having no press releases and the like, is that I believe at the moment the team is in the process of trying to bring new people into the racing sponsorship world, so if and when that’s achieved is when announcements will be made. They will try and put as much focus on a new sponsors as possible but for the moment it’s just an agreement that we know we’ve got."

Josh Brookes ditched the no.1 plate mid-way through 2021 and reverted back to #25

Team-mate Christian Iddon's whereabout this year is yet to be confirmed. Despite heavily outperforming Brookes with two race wins and a fourth place finish in the championship, he will either make way for Tom Sykes, or PBM could even keep Iddon and run Sykes on a third V4 Panigale. 

Another option for Iddon could be Buildbase Suzuki. Gino Rea decided to leave BSB for a factory-backed TSR Honda ride in the FIM Endurance World Championship, and Iddon has since been heavily linked with that vacated seat. Danny Kent missed the second half of last season after breaking a hip at Donington Park and it is unknown whether he will keep his seat or if the Hawk Racing team will have a new line-up altogether.

Going back to Tom Sykes, he also held talks with Lucio Pedercini to remain in World Superbikes and also has the option of MotoAmerica, but a return to BSB with PBM seems the most likely outcome.

Leon Haslam back to BSB with Kawasaki?

After losing his HRC ride in World Superbike, Leon Haslam has been heavily linked with a return to BSB with Kawasaki. That seems the most likely event, since there are no competitive seats left in World SBK, and Haslam already has experience on both the ZX-10R and on the British circuits.

FS-3 Racing is the official Kawasaki team in BSB and have retained Lee Jackson and Rory Skinner for 2022, so it is unknown if they will run a third bike for Haslam or if he will join a separate Kawasaki-run team.

Supersport class taking shape

The British Supersport Championship looks set for an exciting year with Jack Kennedy staying to defend his title, plus new manufacturers entering the arena.

After winning his third title in 2021 with Bournemouth Kawasaki, Kennedy has returned to the Northern Irish-based Mar-Train Yamaha team, with whom he finished runner-up to Glen Richards in 2012 after his machine broke down during the final race. You sense there is unfinished business for both rider and team.

Jack Kennedy reunited with Mar-Train Yamaha

Jamie Perrin replaced Kennedy at Bournemouth Kawasaki, presumably on the same 636cc bike. Ben Currie has moved to World Supersport but former rider Ben Wilson is now running the Gearlink Kawasaki team, with a youthful line-up of Eunan McGlinchey and Zak Corderoy.

The Appleyard Macadam Yamaha team, who have recently won titles with Kennedy and Rory Skinner, have retained Bradley Perie and have signed Harry Truelove to ride their R6s.

Astro-JJR become the official Triumph team, after making the switch from National Superstock. This is following the departure of Simon Buckmaster's Dynavolt team to World SSP. New Zealander Shane Richardson remains with the team while Irishman Rhys Irwin, who was a rookie last year, joins from Appleyard.

Damon Rees also switches from Superstock to Supersport, but remains with Ashcourt Racing on a Yamaha R6, while Lee Johnston switches his focus back to road racing.

David Jones and Dragon Racing will run a Ducati Panigale V2, while reigning Ducati TriOptions champion Josh Day is also hoping to run a V2 if he can find the budget.

With Triumph and Ducati joining the series that was in danger of being dubbed the 'R6 Cup', British Supersport looks set for an exciting new era and it will be interesting to see if any of the next crop of young talent can mount a serious challenge to Jack Kennedy.