Troubled week sees Burns future in doubt

Newcastle motorcycle racer Joe Burns looks set to abandon his British Superbike Championship plans this season after a troubled week for the Pr1mo Kawasaki team.

Burns, 19, had been signed to ride one of the squad’s Kawasaki ZX10 machines in this year’s series after impressing the team when he rode their Superstock bike last season.

But this week things took a dramatic twist when team owner Danny Cheevers was remanded in custody with a charge for conspiracy to supply cocaine.


The Pr1mo Racing outfit was thrown into panic and a news release later confirmed Pr1mo was still hoping to continue its relationship with Bournemouth Kawasaki.

However, this left Burns potentially out in the cold with just two months before the season kicks-off over the Easter weekend, and he was forced to start making other plans.

As it stands, he is likely to once again run himself along with his dad, Mick, in this year’s Metzeler National Superstock 1000 Championship. He plans to run a ZX10 but it is unclear at the moment how much input Pr1mo will have.

“The news is that I’m competing in this year’s National Superstock 1000 Championship, riding for myself on a ZX10R,” he revealed.

“I only have the budget for a few rounds so hopefully I can get some decent results and gain some help.”