Fresh from their successful campaign with James Hillier at the Isle of Man TT road races, the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team now turn their attention back to the 2017 MCE British Superbike Championship.

Knockhill in Scotland is the venue for round four of the championship this weekend and although both riders had mixed fortunes at the recent test at Snetterton, they’re both looking forward to resuming their title challenge with the last round at Oulton Park having taken place some seven weeks ago.

Leon, from Derbyshire, currently leads the championship on 111 points having taken three wins from the six races held so far and that gives him a three-point cushion over team-mate Mossey who took the double back at Brands Hatch in April. The duo have also accrued the most podium credits with 19 and 14 respectively.

At 1.26-miles, and with a lap that takes just 48s, Knockhill is one of the shortest circuits on the calendar but it was kind to both riders 12 months ago with Haslam taking the win in the first race and Cambridgeshire’s Mossey finishing just 0.782s behind him in third. And it’s that kind of form they’ll be looking to repeat this time around.

With five rounds still to go before the crucial showdown gets under way, which will ultimately decide the 2017 champion, they both know the importance of remaining consistent to ensure they keep racking up the all-important credits.

The meeting also sees the third round of the Hyundai Heavy Industries British Sidecar Championship take place with reigning champions Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood looking to build on their solid start to the season. Despite tricky conditions at Oulton Park, the pair secured another podium finish and currently lie 15 points behind double victors Tim and Tristan Reeves.

Maria Costello MBE and her passenger Kirsty Hauxwell will also be looking to improve on their debut sidecar outing at Oulton Park and qualify to compete in all three races.

Leon said: 

“I’m really looking forward to Knockhill; it’s been a good seven-week break since Oulton and obviously it didn’t end too well there with the crash behind James. Having said that the season has gone well overall so far and Knockhill last year was a really good weekend in so far as I won race one and was winning race two until I had a visor problem.

“Wet and dry I felt really competitive with the Kawasaki and the JG Speedfit outfit and I’m looking forward to getting back going and continuing the team’s winning ways. Hopefully we can keep pushing on and extend the championship lead.”

Luke said:

 “I’ve had a lot of good results so far this season and after the long break I’m raring to go! I’ve been training so hard since the last round at Oulton Park and I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike at Knockhill and bringing some more trophies home!”

Ryan said: 

“Knockhill is one of my favourite circuits, but we know it’s going to be a tough round as it’s such a small track, which makes it very difficult to overtake. Also, there are a couple of our competitors who are from the local area so know the circuit like the back of their hand.

“Last year our hopes were dashed at Knockhill when I was thrown out of the outfit during practice and dislocated my shoulder. The injury did heal well however, and I have come a long way since then. Nevertheless, I don’t want a repeat performance of last year so I have trained relentlessly in the past few weeks to ensure my core and upper body fitness are on point.

“With potentially two reverse grids to contend with and a lot of points up for grabs we’ll be digging deep in the hope of securing our first win of the season.”