Steve in practice during the 2009 TT

Endurance racing specialists Prime Factors Racing has signed Steve Plater as Team Manager as they prepare for the Isle of Man TT, Roads and Endurance World Championship. Plater will start this new role from the World renowned Bol d'or event in September at the EWC finale, ready for a full assault in 2016!

Having secured the 2014 British Endurance Championship, Prime Factors Racing stepped up to the Superstock class in the FIM Endurance World Championship for 2015, enjoying a point scoring finish in their opening race at the iconic Le Mans 24hr. Looking to take another massive step forward in 2016, the Surrey based team will be entering the blue riband Superbike class (including the Suzuka 8HR) as well as campaigning on the 'roads' - making their debut at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT.

Overseeing Prime Factors Racing's progression into these categories will be Steve Plater, who has signed as Team Manager. Plater is known for his wide experience having won races at British Superbike, Endurance, NW200 and Isle of Man TT events. The Lincolnshireman will be bringing his unrivalled knowledge to the team over the winter to ensure they arrive at the opening event in the best possible position.

The team are now currently in discussions with various manufacturers, partners and riders for the 2016 season which will be unveiled in due course.

Speaking after joining Prime Factors Racing, Team Manager Steve Plater said,

"This is a really exciting opportunity. I'm looking forward to coming on-board with Prime Factors Racing and bringing my experience to this new chapter for the team. I've been involved in a managerial position with some various teams before, including the AIM team and Honda Racing, so I'm looking forward to working alongside Bruce - who will no doubt be busy enough on the retail side of Prime Factors!

Despite being a relatively new team, Prime Factors Racing has already shown their credentials by winning the British Endurance Championship and getting a strong start to their 2015 World Endurance Championship at Le Mans.

My first tasks will be to arrange our choice of machine, riders, tyres and the like for next year. We've got an idea of where we want to go so I'm looking forward to progressing this over the next few months. Then it will be my job to ensure we're shipshape for every race and keeping the staff happy, which is a vital part of ensuring that we achieve our goals for 2016."

Team Principal of Prime Factors Racing, Bruce Charman is equally as excited to be welcoming Steve to the team

"2015 has seen the team move up from National to International level racing, which has been a real learning curve and successful so far.

Bringing Steve on to help prepare us for 2016 is another exciting step forward for the team and I'm positive it's going to see us achieve further success. It's a very big move as we'll not only be stepping up into the Superbike class of the World Endurance Championship but also taking on the challenges of the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT - something I'm particularly looking forward to having never been to either, despite working within motorcycling for many, many years!

I'm really looking forward to working alongside someone with the skills, pedigree and success that Steve has. The step up is certainly going to be a challenge for the team but it's a very exciting time and one I'm sure we'll excel at."

To complete the busy plans for the group, Prime Factors Motorcycles has recently opened to prepare and service bikes for track and road, all based out of their unit in Redhill, Surrey. The company is also a major distributor for BMW race equipment suppliers Alpha Racing.

Steve gets his hands on the Seniors trophy in 2009.