The grid is starting to shape up as Santander Salt TAG Racing sign Kennedy and Linfoot for 2020 BSB racing.
Dan Linfoot has ridden with the team for the 2019 British Superbike season, achieving one podium at Brands Hatch. But the 31-year-old Yorkshire rider showed pace in various rounds before mechanical problems intervened.
“I’m really happy to get a deal done with Rob, Tracy and Gary for next season, looking back we have experienced some technical issues this year and with a view of them coming right it only makes sense to start 2020 with those issues out of the way and having a proper go at the Championship onboard the new R1.
“I don’t need to waste any time in getting to know the team, we can hit the ground running in 2020, and we will have a lot more testing time throughout the winter which is going to help massively,” said Linfoot.
The more surprising news is that his team-mate on the new 2020 Yamaha R1 will be the reigning British Supersport Jack Kennedy.
Double champion Kennedy took the 2019 British Supersport championship at Donington Park with one round still remaining. After winning the title for the second year in a row, and proving a dominant pairing with team-mate Brad Jones on the Appleyard Macadam R6, it makes sense that Kennedy will stick with the Japanese manufacturer as he moves teams and championships.
“I’m over the moon, I had a job to do at Donington Park and that is now done so now I can focus on 2020 after getting myself a good ride in BSB with Santander Salt TAG Racing. I’m really excited, I’m happy to be staying with Yamaha as well, they are a good manufacturer to ride for and the R1 is a bike I feel I can really do well on.
“I feel like I have unfinished business in the Superbike class and with this opportunity I can prove myself again on a big bike. It really fits into place, the team speaks for itself for what they have done in the past, they have been around a long time also, which is good and I really feel I can put myself up the sharp end on a competitive bike that the team turn out.
“It almost feels identical to the Appleyard team because it is such a family run team, with a family environment and from the conversations that I have had with Rob and a few of the other lads in the team I get that same feeling and I really enjoy that. It’s a real welcome feeling because I am starting a family myself so there is no better time to join another family orientated outfit, I’m really looking forward to it.
“The new R1 has a lot of upgrades and updates to it so I’m sure it will be a stronger package, I’m excited to see what it is like, and also I’m excited to hear what Dan thinks because he will have ridden the old and new models.
“My goal is the Showdown of course, I haven’t felt as good as I ever have done in the last two years and I know I can put consistent results together, obviously it needs to be in the top five or six but I feel we can get there when I get comfortable on the bike, there is no reason why we can’t be up there,” said Kennedy.
As TAG Racing sign Kennedy and Linfoot for 2020 BSB racing, the preparations are underway already. The team are set to get their hands on the all-new 2020 spec Yamaha R1 in the next few weeks with a heavy testing schedule to prepare for next season.
It means current Superbike rider Shaun Winfield will move into the National Superstock 1000 championship for 2020, again with a new Yamaha YZF-R1, and with continued mentoring from his current crew chief Chris Walker. We’d imagine that also means Walker will continue to pilot the Santander Salt TAG Racing sidecar outfit.
Although the team has struggled slightly over the last two seasons, the pairing of Kennedy and Linfoot could see them return to the type of results which saw them just miss out on the 2017 BSB title with rider Josh Brookes.
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