Burrows Engineering/RK Racing team owner John Burrows with Mike Browne and Paul Jordan.
Copyright: Freelance

The Burrows Engineering/RK Racing team’s plans for the 2020 road racing season are on hold indefinitely as the coronavirus pandemic has brought sport around the world to a virtual standstill.

The Cookstown 100 and Tandragee 100 Irish national road races in April and May respectively have been postponed along with the North West 200 (May 12-16), while the Isle of Man TT has been cancelled.

Motorcycle racing faces a red light in Ireland for the foreseeable future and although the situation is hugely disappointing and frustrating for riders, teams, sponsors, organisers and fans alike; the key priority for now is to follow the government’s guidelines on social distancing and self-isolation, as the health and well-being of the public is paramount during these unprecedented times.

Team principal John Burrows said:

“Nobody could have foretold what was going to happen with the coronavirus outbreak this year and of course we are all disappointed as a team that we won’t be going racing for some time, but racing takes a back seat under these circumstances and the health of everyone is the biggest priority.

“I myself have two elderly parents and they, along with my family, are my biggest concern right now.

“We all hope that the situation will improve as quickly as possible and we look forward to the day when we can get back to doing what we do best as a team, but for now everything is on hold indefinitely.

“We had big plans for this season with Paul Jordan and Mike Browne joining the team and with this season most likely all but wiped out, my plan is to keep both riders for 2021. I can see little reason to change things next year.”

Magherafelt man Paul Jordan was due to compete at the Irish national meetings for Burrows’ team on Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Yamaha R6 machinery, but he accepts that his debut for the team could be on ice for some time.

“Of course I’m gutted with how things have turned out but we have to look at the bigger picture now and be patient,” he said.

“I’ve trained harder than ever over the winter and I’ve never been fitter in my life, but it doesn’t look like we’ll be going racing any time soon.

“I’m just grateful that I’ve joined a team like John’s and he has come out and said I still have a ride on his bikes next season. The situation couldn’t be any better really in terms of the bikes I have and that’s the truth.

“I couldn’t ask for more. I’ve been up in John’s workshop and he makes me feel really welcome. We have a bit of craic and I enjoy being in his company,” Jordan added.

“He’s really enthusiastic and he was giving me a great buzz just talking about building the bikes and his preparation for the season. It’s a really good atmosphere and we were both so excited – we couldn’t wait to get going.”

Jordan already feels at home within the Co Tyrone-based team and is hopeful this will be the start of a long association with Burrows Racing.

“John has put a huge effort into the 600 Yamaha that he has got me for the roads and I just wanted to get out there and ride the wheels off the bike and repay him for that,” he said.

“The effort has been second to none and I couldn’t ask for more than what I have. I’m confident that we can have a really good relationship going forward and I’m looking at this as a long-term association.”

Cork man Mike Browne was equally dejected by the turn of events that have turned the season upside-down, but the 30-year-old readily agrees that everyone’s health and well-being is the top priority.

“From a racing point of view it’s a disaster but things have obviously changed in a big way and we’re all in the same boat,” he said.

“There’s not much we can do and I was one of the first people to have a bit of a laugh about the whole thing at the beginning, but of course it’s become a lot more serious now and I’m worried about my family like everyone else.

“If the situation changes for the better at all later in the year then I’ll be ready to get out there and race, but at the moment there is so much uncertainty over how this will all pan out and we don’t know when things might get back to normal.

“We’ll just have to wait and see how it all goes.”