BSB: Introducing… JG Speedfit Bournemouth Kawasaki

After a heartbreaking end to the 2017 season, the JG Speedfit Bournemouth Kawasaki team are well-and-truly fired up for the forthcoming 2018 season in British Superbikes. Retaining their star-studded line-up of ex WSBK race winner Leon Haslam and one of Britain’s biggest prospects, Luke Mossey, the team from the South coast will be a force to reckoned with once more.

A dream start to 2017, Leon Haslam completed a double at Donington Park before Luke Mossey matched the achievement a round later. The first four races all went the way of Pete Extance’s team and they looked like they would be unstoppable for the remainder of the season. It wasn’t to be – big crashes, injuries and technical problems scuppered Leon Haslam’s progress but going into the final round at Brands Hatch, Haslam had staggeringly built up what seemed to be an insurmountable advantage. As we know, the rest is history but Haslam has vowed to use the 2017 season as a foundation to work from in 2018. Six wins and six further podiums sounds like good form for Haslam and if he can improve on that in 2018, we may see another Byrne v Haslam Showdown.

On the other side of the garage, Luke Mossey will be raring to go. The BSB race winner from last season was injured in a horrifying accident at Thruxton and despite his best efforts, he narrowly missed out on The Showdown placings, despite leaving Knockhill at the top of the championship tree. A fourth season for ‘Skywalker’ in Pete Extance’s team means Mossey must perform and return to The Showdown. Five podiums in 2017 before he got injured, Mossey’s pace is as good as anyone’s on race-day if the conditions are just right.

The team head into 2018 off the back of a desperate end to the season last year. We know however that the year to come could be the year that the British Superbike championship heads to Bournemouth. Now the team have a year under the belt working with Haslam and vice-versa, the chemistry and teamwork has already formed and now, for a a second season, Haslam may well be able to challenge week in, week out, whereas last year, some rounds were hit and miss -Thruxton being one.