Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing have announced that they will retain double British F1 sidecar champions Team Ricky and Ryan (WPS Racing) for the 2017 season and that the new team will run with JG Speedfit as their title sponsor.

After racing to victory in 2015 and successfully defending their title in 2016, sidecar driver Ricky Stevens, from Portsmouth, and his passenger Ryan Charlwood, from Dover, joined Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing at Motorcycle Live at the NEC in Birmingham earlier today to reveal their plan for the 2017 championship.

The pair will team up with 2016 MCE BSB runner-up Leon Haslam and 2016 showdown contender Luke Mossey as well as road racer James Hillier and race under the name JG Speedfit Cool Kawasaki as they make their bid for a triple championship in 2017.

Ryan said: “It’s a privilege to be in the same team as Luke and Leon, both extremely talented BSB riders. We have found that being part of a superbike team has been really beneficial to us over the past couple of years so we were keen to do it again.

“We’re truly delighted to be part of a title-fighting team in 2017. It puts the pressure on us to up our game even further and that is exactly what we intend to do.”

The new JG Speedfit Kawasaki team line-up will spearhead Kawasaki UK’s assault on the British Superbike Championship and the British Sidecar Championship.

Ricky said: “To be part of a factory team is a bit of a dream come true for us. We will now benefit from the direct support of Kawasaki UK during the 2017 season and that is invaluable. It will really help move us forward.”

Pete Extance, team owner of Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing, said: “JG Speedfit’s investment, along with Kawasaki UK, has allowed us to put in place our most competitive team line-up for the British Superbike Championship, British Sidecar Championship, North West 200 and Isle of Man TT.

“We are delighted that Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood will once again lead our attack on the 2016 British Sidecar Championship and I know they are already working extremely hard as they embark on the challenge of securing their third successive title.”

Wayne Stevens, team owner of WPS Racing, said: “We are really grateful for Pete’s continued support and are delighted to once again partner up with an outstanding superbike team.

“We would also like to thank our sponsors and partners for their support in 2016 and their renewed commitment for 2017. We look forward to the season ahead with much excitement.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

• Ricky and Ryan are the 2015 and 2016 British F1 Sidecars champions.
• They raced to victory in the 2015 championship for team AOS/Be Wiser with Ricky Stevens, from Portsmouth, as driver and Ryan Charlwood, from Dover, as co-rider.
• In 2015, they also beat the world champions by four seconds, effectively making them the best F1 sidecar racing team in the world at present.
• In 2016, Ricky and Ryan joined the Quattro Plant Cool Kawasaki team. They stood on the podium at every single round and picked up five victories, securing the championship title for the second year in a row.
• In 2017, Ricky and Ryan will race for team JG Speedfit Cool Kawasaki as they make their bid for a triple title.

For media information contact:
Sarah-Jane Freni
Account Director
Shooting Star
0117 3131120
sarahjane@weareshootingstar.co.uk

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