Honda Racing UK has confirmed their plans for the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season, as Tom Neave steps up into the premier class alongside Glenn Irwin, Ryo Mizuno and Takumi Takahashi, as the Louth-based squad prepares its four-man assault on the British championship.
Irwin continues with the team for a third consecutive year, and looks ahead to 2022 following recent shoulder surgery at the end of the 2021 season, after being plagued with an injury for most of this year. He’s determined to be in the title fight from the start after showing potential with wins and podiums aboard the Fireblade SP in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
For the Japanese contenders Mizuno and Takahashi, this season was their debut year in the British series and having to learn new circuits, race on new tyres and without traction control was a steep learning curve for them both. Throughout the season the Bennetts BSB rookies proved vital, developing and testing new components for the Fireblade SP, and now armed with a years’ worth of circuit and bike knowledge, are keen to move up the pack and score regular points next season.
Irwin said: “I’m delighted to sign again with Honda Racing UK for the third consecutive season; I think we’ve had two years of a good foundation and an excellent debut with the Fireblade SP, and despite lots of little challenges we have learnt a lot about the bike. I expect good things and especially with the development from this season, what I want and what the team want is to step up and to fight more with the top runners on a consistent basis.
“Having Ryo and Takumi staying with the team is good and I enjoyed working with them this season and the input they had, at times they were starting to show more pace which will only help the team moving forward. Tom stepping up is fantastic and a teammate I’ve been wanting, he’s young, he’s hungry, very dedicated and will certainly keep me on my toes! It does no harm to have a teammate like that.
“I think 2022 can be a good season, I’ve been under the knife recently for my shoulder getting that fixed and I am looking forward to going into a new season clear of injury and I am looking forward to going testing.”
Mizuno added: “I’m glad to continue racing with the Honda Racing UK team in 2022. I’ll be aiming to keep on fighting and evolving with the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP each race to aim for better and better results. I’d like to thank my family, friends, and personal sponsors for supporting my racing activities.”
Takahashi concluded: “I’ll participate the British Superbike Championship in 2022. In 2021, most of the circuits were new for me and because of my injury, I was frustrated by the results. I’ve already started preparations for 2022 season to get a good result. My first target is the podium, but I’ll do my best for the victory.”