British Superbike teams are preparing for the coming season, and one of the big changes is that Christian Iddon joins Danny Kent at Buildbase Suzuki for 2022.
The 37-year-old finished the 2021 season in fourth, and previously achieved third in the final standings in 2021, both times riding a Ducati. But he did previously ride a Suzuki GSX-R1000 in 2015 to a 10th place. Last year, he was challenging for the title throughout, taking a number of wins and podiums.
Christian Iddon, “To be honest I was surprised to find myself looking for a ride, going into the winter, but things always seem to fall into place and I’m really pleased to be joining Buildbase Suzuki and Hawk Racing. I think we’re cut from similar cloth in that they love their racing, they’re very passionate about it, and they just quietly get on with it. I also think the team is underrated by a lot of people – though not by me – despite their achievements, and they don’t always get the recognition they deserve. But, you only have to look at the races and championships they’ve won and how they always get the best out of their riders to know it’s a great team. So I think we’re well-suited to each other.
“And I think we can mount a serious title challenge. That’s got to be the aim, to be champion can only ever be the aim. Of course that’s not easy with so many bikes so close on performance and good riders on the grid, but if we get the best from the bike and from me we can have a go.
“Even though it was the previous bike that I raced before, I know the Suzuki is known for having a compliant chassis, and from being on track with the new bike over the last couple of seasons I can see where it’s strong and I know it’s fast enough. We need to focus on making it consistently competitive, and improve at some of the circuits where it’s struggled in the past. But first I’ve got to find my feet and get comfortable as quickly as possible. I’ll hopefully get out on a race-prepped GSX-R before official preseason testing gets underway, but there are enough official tests to get up to speed. I’m looking forward to getting started.”
Iddon will join Danny Kent, who returns for a second consecutive season with Buildbase Suzuki. Last season saw Kent take his first wiin at Thruxton, before a fractured and dislocated hip derailed his championship and saw him finish 18th overall.
Danny Kent, “I’m really grateful to Steve and Stuart [Hicken] for giving me another year with the team. Obviously I missed the whole second half of last season with the injury, but we definitely saw some positives in the first half of the year, the podium at Thruxton being the standout. But, it was my first full year on a superbike and I felt I was adapting more and more and the potential was definitely there. I was gutted to miss the second half of the year, especially as I could see the development of the bike and the improvements the team were able to make that resulted in a couple of wins.
“My hip is getting better. It’s not at 100% but it’s going in the right direction. A lack of strength is the biggest thing; the muscles have deteriorated and it feels weak, I can’t apply the same force, but I’m working with Loughborough University and I have seen a significant improvement. But it was a complicated injury – I was bed-bound for a week waiting for an operation, as they could put it back in place but it kept falling out because of the fracture – and I have to see specialists every three months for the foreseeable future. I’ve not ridden a bike since, though, so I’m looking forward to riding in February, hopefully, and getting some laps in on a superstock bike to get comfortable again and get up to speed. No matter what training you do nothing compares to riding a bike, so that’s going to be important.
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