The Edwards 1902 Yamaha squad will run as a sister team to the McAMS Yamaha effort – Yamaha’s official outfit in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship with full support from both Raceways Motorcycles and Yamaha Motor UK.

Hutchinson will contest a YZF-R1 built by the team in Raceways Motorcycles’ purpose-built GYTR workshop alongside Jason O’Halloran and Tarran Mackenzie’s race-winning superbikes.

A multiple race winner in the National Superstock series, Hutchinson finished runner-up in the championship in 2016. The move sees Hutchinson return to Yamaha, a brand with which he has enjoyed an array of success over the last decade including four Isle of Man TT victories and wins at both the Macau and Ulster Grand Prixs.

The Bingley Bullet will get his first taste of the Edwards 1902 YZF-R1 on Wednesday as the first official Bennetts British Superbike test gets underway at Silverstone.

Launched in 2020, Edwards 1902 is a multi-award-winning Single Variety Premium vodka made exclusively from King Edward potatoes grown in the Yorkshire Wolds and distilled in Lincolnshire at the Elsham Wold distillery.

Hutchinson said:

“I’m really excited to be back with Yamaha for the 2021 season with the Edwards 1902 team and Raceways Motorcycles. I’ve had a lot of success with Yamaha in the past and especially with Steve and the team at Raceways – it’s all so familiar for me so not really a new team as such!

“It’s a big shame there is no road racing this year, but on the other hand that does mean I can fully focus on the Superstock championship. With so many races in a short period of time it’ll be a full-on season but that’s how I like it.

“I’ve not ridden the latest YZF-R1 but it’s clearly a good package, Jason finished second in BSB last year, both he and Taz won races on it. The guys know the bike like the back of their hand so I’m looking forward to trying it in Superstock trim and seeing if we can get on the podium and perhaps win some races.”

Richard Arundel, Team Manager, Edwards 1902 Yamaha, commented:

“The whole Team at Edwards 1902 are really excited to be going racing again with Hutchy on board the Yamaha R1 as a sister team to the McAMS Yamaha Superbike Team. I need to say a huge thankyou to Steve, the team at Raceways and to Yamaha for putting us a package together that allows us to race with the backing of such a professional race-winning team. I also need to thank all of our team sponsors for their continued support and we look forward to celebrating some great results with an Edwards1902 after the racing is done!

“We have seen the R1 in all its glory for the first time this week, it looks amazing and we are very proud it is carrying the Edwards1902 brand. Hutchy has a fantastic relationship with Yamaha and the Raceways team and has had great success with Yamaha in the past so we wish him, Jason and Taz all the very best for a great season ahead. After what has been a challenging 12 months for everyone, like all race fans, for us Oulton Park at the end of June can’t come soon enough.”

Steve Rodgers, McAMS Yamaha / Raceways Motorcycles, concluded:

“It’s great to have Richard and the Edwards 1902 team coming on board and joining the Yamaha Racing family in 2021. We know the guys very well from their long-term sponsorship of Jason O’Halloran and obviously we as a team have a lot of history with Hutchy, so when the opportunity came up to do something together it was a natural fit for all of us.

“Edwards 1902 Yamaha will run as an extension of McAMS Yamaha, they’ll be in the garage next door on race weekends so they can make full use of our talented technical staff as we work together to get the YZF-R1 on the top step in both the Superbike and Superstock classes.”