With one round and three races remaining of the 2016 season, the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team sit just 17 points behind leader Shane Byrne and head to Brands Hatch this weekend ready to fight for the MCE British Superbike Championship crown.

After eleven rounds and 23 races, the fight for the 2016 MCE British Superbike Championship title comes down to this weekend’s final three races. JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider Leon Haslam sits just 17 points adrift of the series lead and heads into the round looking for maximum points and having taken six wins from the last eight races, he will be looking to add to his impressive win tally. Team mate James Ellison will also be gunning for his first win of the season as he looks to claim third in the Championship standings whilst Peter Hickman is looking for a podium return as he bids to become Riders Cup Champion.

The Brands Hatch circuit is often considered the home of Superbike racing in the UK and a huge crowd is expected this weekend. The natural amphitheatre style of the track allows for fantastic viewing for fans, with almost the whole Indy part of the circuit in view.

Ahead of this weekend, the team sent Riders Cup contender and fourth fastest ever man around the Isle of Man TT, Peter Hickman, to title sponsor JG Speedfit to learn all about the world leaders in push-fit fittings. You can view the video here: https://youtu.be/9Zi-01gFCeA
               

Ready to fight for his maiden BSB title, Leon Haslam said 

“I actually can’t wait for this weekend! Although there was some difficult parts, we’ve put together a great season; we’ve scored more points than anyone in the traditional sense and have had the same amount of wins and podiums as Shakey so we’re in a good place. I’m approaching the weekend in the same way I have every round this year, we’ve won six of the last eight races and I’m aiming to keep that momentum going this weekend. We’re not overthinking it, we’ll take each race one at a time but our goal is to win each of them.

Brands Hatch is an awesome circuit and I’ve had some great races – even in the summer round with some problems we were still able to finish second. Obviously it’s seen as Shakey’s home round and he’s hard to beat round there, but that’s a bit more pressure for him, particularly with him leading the Championship too, so I think it’s going to be an exciting weekend and hopefully we can leave with the title!”  

Setting his sights on claiming victory and securing third, James Ellison added 

“I’m excited for this weekend. I feel great on the bike and have actually just done some miles on a stock ZX-10R teaching on track so it’s good to get miles under my belt ahead of Brands. I think it’s going to be a very interesting weekend, obviously I’m gutted not to be in the fight for the Championship but our focus is on securing third place in the standings and getting on that top step.

I think like a lot of riders, I love the full GP circuit. Over the lap you get a bit of everything, and it’s a true ‘riders’ track which is a lot of fun to ride. We’ve got a good base from the first visit here in August to work on Friday morning – hopefully the weather stays dry and we can finish the year with three great races.”

Looking to secure his maiden Riders Cup title, Peter Hickman said 

“I’m really looking forward to Brands Hatch this weekend. Assen was a bit of a disaster for us, probably our worst round of the year, so I’m ready to head into Brands and fight back in these three races. We just had a brilliant weekend winning the Stars at Darley meeting on the JG Speedfit Kawasaki bike so I’m feeling confident!

Brands Hatch GP is a mega circuit to ride, and the final round always ensures a massive crowd so it’s going to be exciting! We had a bit of a tough weekend here back in August, but the bike is a million times better so we’re definitely aiming to end the season on a high with three great results and being crowned Riders Cup champion.”

GBmoto Racing Team Principal, Mark Smith-Halvorsen concluded, 

“2016 has been an incredible season; my huge thanks to everybody in the team who has brought this new ZX10R so far in such a short period of time. Pete has a good chance to win the Riders Cup, James can finish in the top three and whatever the outcome, I believe we are on course to achieve the best team results over the season.  If the championship was run without the Showdown, our current standings with Ducati would be reversed.

For the first time we head into the final round in a position to fight for the British Superbike title. Brands is seen as Shakey’s circuit so in theory we’re coming in as the underdogs, but to be honest we are not phased at all, with nothing to lose - we will be the hunters, not the hunted. Leon has won more races in the second half of the season and Shakey has struggled to beat him lately.  Our main goal this weekend is simple; to win all three races and put the pressure on him to finish behind us – as we’ve seen so many times, absolutely anything can happen in BSB!”