Housewives’ favourite, Taylor Mackenzie, will partner with old teammate Jack Kennedy this season in a two bike attack on the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship. Riding for Sheffield based Team WD-40, the dynamic duo will ride Kawasaki ZX-10Rs.
Taylor Mackenzie and Jack Kennedy will ride in BSB.
Kennedy returns to the British paddock following a two year stint in the World Supersport championship, finishing his first season with Rivamoto in eighth place and bagging a podium in 2014 for PTR Honda on his way to a 12th place finish overall.
Jack Kennedy returns after a two year stint in WSS.
Jack Kennedy: “I’ve have had one off rides on Superbikes before and really enjoyed the experience. I have been looking closely at the transition into a full time Superbike career, and it was the chance to join Team WD-40 in BSB that really excited me the most because I know with what they have there, we can have a real crack at it. I’m even more excited about the team they’ve got in place, with my old crew chief Andy Jamison and even my old teammate Taylor – it’ll be just like the old days! I know how good Andy is, and that we work well together, it makes everything easier, because we don’t have to start fresh. We all know there is such a huge worldwide following of BSB, and I am looking forward to getting back out in front of those big British crowds again. The level of competition in BSB is very strong; if you look at the list of riders it shows the depth of field and I am excited to be a part of it. I couldn’t be more confident than I am now for joining this team with their package and crew. Every rider in BSB focuses on being in the Showdown and that is the same for me. I want to be pushing for the top six and then we can go hell-for-leather in the last three rounds! We want to be fighting for podiums – we are certainly not there to make up the numbers!”
Mackenzie joins the team following a tough 2014 season in the British Supersport championship with Tyco Suzuki on the GSX-R600. Proving he had the pace with a second place finish at Silverstone, T Mac struggled with consistency (unless you like finishing ninth a lot) and seemed determined to put the season behind him in order to focus on a step up to the premiership class in British racing.
Taylor Mackenzie, if you’re a woman and you have a pulse, he probably would.
Taylor Mackenzie: “I am over the moon to be making my British Superbike debut for Team WD40 this season. It’s a massive opportunity for me to step up to the Superbike class at the age of 21, I really can’t thank Brent Gladwin and Geoff Crust enough for putting their faith in me. After spending some time with the team last year with my brother (Tarran will compete for the WD40 squad again in 2015 in the Superstock 600 class), I am looking forward to starting work with my new Crew Chief Danny Wright, it feels like a seamless transition in to the team. It’s also good to have my old team mate Jack Kennedy back in the garage next to me, we worked well together before and are good friends too. I have ridden big bikes a couple of times and really enjoyed it, everyone knows that the faster your bike, the more girls you get. I’ve got a steep learning curve ahead of me but I can’t wait for the challenge ahead.”
WD40 team principle Brent Gladwin – “moving into our 20th year of racing we are looking for some celebrations. With Geoff Crust’s help, I’ve put together a great team with some of the best crew in the paddock. Andy Jamison, Danny Wright and Juan Basil led by Geoff are a formidable Team and with 2 strong young riders in Jack and Taylor we are aiming high for the future.”
Kennedy and Mackenzie are both hungry for success, will be riding the massively competitive Kawasaki ZX-10Rs and have the kind of team support that will hopefully help them push a few experienced names around the championship. There’s only 72 days until the flag drops, book your tickets here.
Did you know?
WD40 was originally designed in 1953 as a rust preventer for the aerospace industry. It took 40 attempts to get the right balance of water displacing chemicals just right, hence the name. Support the sponsors that support our sport, buy some WD40 here
Words: @Johnatsuperbike Pics: Team supplied