As Christmas and the New Year beckon, MSVR would like to thank everyone who made the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship such a success and also for the unwavering support from our fans around the world during these tough times.
2021 was our 25th anniversary and despite the initial uncertainty, which meant we had reduced crowd for the opening events, we were soon able to welcome fans back trackside and what a feeling that was after having no spectators in 2020.
The atmosphere of having a return to normality with crowds back trackside was incredible, and the season didn’t fail to deliver the spectacle synonymous with Bennetts BSB.
We would like to thank all of our fans around the globe for their continued support, with tens of millions of you who watched around the world on television, and everyone who continued to grow and get involved with Bennetts BSB by interacting through our social media channels throughout the year.
Of course we need to thank all of the riders and teams across the classes, who continue to provide non-stop entertainment and incredible competition at each and every round; your talent, skill, commitment and professionalism continues to make the series so highly respected amongst all other motorsport championships in the world.
The 2021 season will go down in history as Tarran Mackenzie was victorious, taking his first title 25 years after his Father Niall, and what a poignant end to the anniversary than to have the title-winning McAMS Yamaha lined up alongside the Cadbury Boost Yamaha for the final photos of the season.
You couldn’t have written the script for the 2021 season; Jason O'Halloran had a commanding lead heading into the Showdown, yet it all changed heading into the decider, with the top four contenders the closest they had been in the fight since 2010.
Over the season there were an impressive eight different race winners and a further seven podium finishers representing nine different teams and six manufacturers to finish inside the top three – showing just how competitive BSB is and the robustness of our technical regulations.
We also toast all of our support class champions – Jack Kennedy, Charlie Nesbitt, Casey O’Gorman, Tom Neave, Jack Nixon, Cameron Dawson, Josh Day and the Birchell brothers.
Bennetts are a valued title sponsor of the series and we would like to thank them for their commitment to the sport and to giving our fans special loyalty offers through their continued Bennetts BikeSocial membership programme.
Our sincere appreciation also goes out to all our commercial and media partners, who are an integral part of the series.
The Bennetts BSB show would simply not be possible without the commitment and skills of the Racesafe marshals, the race organisation and our outstanding medical team, the latter who continue to tireless work in their roles within the NHS and so we thank them for their incredible dedication.
We are already looking ahead next season and have started the countdown to the opening round of 2022, which will kick off at Silverstone on April 15/16/17. We can’t wait because if this season was anything to go by, we are in for another spectacular new season.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Stuart Higgs
Series Director, Bennetts British Superbike Championship