BSB: Junior Supersport Season Preview

With the new BSB calendar announced, the Hel Performance Junior Supersport championship will be back in action and as exciting as ever. The national feeder series will take place at five rounds of the Bennetts British Superbike Calendar, missing the season finale at Brands Hatch, but with the possibility of an extra round at the Donington Park World Superbike event, proposed to take place in October.

After an exciting year in 2019 that saw the championship go right to the wire at the final race in Brands Hatch, 2020 is set to be another year filled with typical action packed lightweight racing with returning podium contenders, new faces, and strong manufacturer involvement.

2019 podium contender Adon Davie will be returning to for his 2nd year in the class, having shown great promise in his rookie season. The youngster burst onto the scene at Silverstone 2019, snatching pole position and winning both races. Davie then went on to pick up 6 podiums, including 3 wins. The 15-year-old explained he understands there’s pressure going to the season as a title favourite, but states he “can’t really think about that” as he aims for a “top 3 result or the championship.” After successful pre-season testing seeing Adon Davie post lap times very close to front runners of the World Supersport 300 championship, the youngster is looking very strong ahead of the 2020 season.

Davie isn’t the only returning podium contender from 2019. Riders such as Lynden Leatherland, Cameron Hall, and Cameron Dawson showed signs of front running pace in the closing rounds of 2019, and will be looking for more in 2020. Leatherland explained that his initial plan for 2020 was to move up to the National Superstock 600 class, “…but after a successful last few rounds in 2019, it made sense to stay and contend for wins and podiums. My aim is to move into next season as a champion” Lynden added.

Another rider who will looking for the title is 2019 front runner Owen Jenner. Jenner will front the Junior Supersport leg of the new Massingberd-Mundy Team Green initiative ran by the Affinity Sports Academy. The Kawasaki UK backed outfit will run Jenner along with new face Ash Barnes, and James McManus. Barnes making the step up to national level as the 2019 Team Green Bemsee champion. Jenner made his intentions clear, stating he seeks to win the championship, with the team giving “a lot of confidence” to be able to do so. Having completed a successful test with the team, experiencing a switch to Ohlins suspension for 2020, Jenner explained him and team “got up to speed really quickly and went faster than before”.

2019 championship winning team Symcirrus Motorsport will be running in the championship for a 3rd year running. The team will be running Oscar Pinson and Osian Jones. Oscar, younger brother of 2019 champion Elliot Pinson, will be returning for a 2nd season in the class. Osian Jones, younger brother of GP2 rider and 2019 Motostar front runner Dan Jones, will be looking to impress in his first season in the class. Osian has previously worked with Symcirrus as a wildcard in the Motostar class at Assen 2019.

MSS Performance will also be continuing their involvement in the Junior Supersport class, running the Australian hot prospect Seth Crump. Seth, son of three time speedway world champion Jason Crump, showed promise in a single wildcard he undertook at Donington Park 2019. The wildcard saw Seth leading a race, and bagging a top 10 result. Switching from KTM to Kawasaki, Seth explained he hasn’t yet ridden the Ninja 400 but has track time planned. Crump explains his plans coming to the UK are to “have fun” and improve his riding, which teamed up with Nick Morgan’s MSS Performance outfit could see the youngster as a serious threat for podium contention.

Over the first two seasons of the Junior Supersport, we’ve seen an almost completely Kawasaki dominated championship. However, 2020 could see the domination under threat from the other manufacturers.

Crescent Yamaha’s Brody Crockford will be looking to put up a fight against the Kawasaki’s. Teaming up with WorldSBK Crescent Yamaha team manager Paul Denning, Crockford will ride the new model Yamaha YZF-R3 for 2020. Crockford explained the new model “…isn’t too dissimilar from the last, the main differences are the parts we have on the Crescent Bike, which are based on the GYTR and World Supersport 300 spec Yamahas.” Crockford believes the Yamaha has what it takes to take the fight to the podium. “It’s obvious that the Kawasaki is the favourite, and that won’t change easily, but I aim to show the Yamaha’s competitiveness and prove that what works at World Championship can also work in British Junior Supersport” Brody explained.

Crockford isn’t the only Yamaha looking to prove a point in 2020. Chloe Jones, Ross Banham, and Jay Able are all riders who will be going into their 2nd season on the Yamaha R3, and have the potential to give the class some exciting multi-brand action.

Another bike we’ve seen that is capable of giving the Ninja a hard time is the KTM RC390R. Provided everything is in place, the Haybuck Motorcycle KTM Junior Team will be returning for a 3rd season in the class with Kier Armstrong. The team originally set up to reward Brian Hart for his KTM World Cup victory in 2017, has finished inside the top 3 two seasons in a row. With only 3 RC390Rs on the grid, KTM riders Kier Arsmtrong, Lewis Jones, and Alessandro Valente could give the class some exciting underdog performances.

As ever, the lightweight class at national level will also be bringing new faces to the BSB paddock. Riders such as Sam Laidlow, Bradley Wilson, and Jack Ferris will start their debut season in BSB. As well as Chris Johnson, joining the Racecraft Rider Development outfit, and Kam Dixon graduating from the Thundersport GB GP3 Superteens after clinching runner up in 2019.