The Milwaukee Yamaha team return to action this weekend for the opening round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship as the season kicks off at Brands Hatch in Kent. James Ellison and Josh Waters are ready to launch their 2013 campaign, whilst William Dunlop prepares to represent the team in the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship.

2011 champions SMR are determined to win back the title and the Guisborough team have high hopes for the season opener. Ellison returns to the Championship following two seasons on the world stage and is ready to challenge for the podium again and Australian double champion Waters makes his MCE BSB debut on the 1.2-mile Indy circuit and is keen to make an impression.

The Milwaukee Yamaha will also feature on the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship grid this season as Dunlop combines it alongside the major road races. The Ballymoney rider is preparing for the opening races of the season following recent pre-season tests and is aiming for a solid start to his campaign.

Ellison said:

“I am looking forward to the first round so I can gauge how strong we are going to be and what I'm up against this year; obviously I can see it’s a strong pack from watching on TV last year but with the little amount of testing we have it’s not enough to really have an idea where we will be. I know the team and bike is strong enough to run at the front every weekend so it's down to me to make that happen. I'm a little nervous about the first round, but I get that every year and I think if I didn't I wouldn't be human so it's all good! With the Showdown rules I know there are pros and cons that I am sure will affect us all at some point during the season so I'm just going to do my best every weekend and ride the wave, then we will see what happens. Bring it on!”


Waters said:

“I can’t wait to get started in the Championship as I have been looking forward to the first round for weeks! It has been hard to judge where everyone is at during the recent tests because of the weather, but at the same time it gave me a chance to learn the tracks which was important. I really want to have a good start to the season and get some good results for the Milwaukee Yamaha team.”

Dunlop said:

“It feels good to get the season started but at the same time it was unfortunate that the weather meant we didn’t get as much testing as we would have liked. For me this is a really different start to the season and we want to build up throughout the weekend and over the opening rounds.”


Team owner Shaun Muir concluded:

“The whole of the team are looking forward to getting the season started this weekend and we intend to have a strong opening round both for James and Josh in the Superbike class and for William in Supersport. This will be the first weekend for the new look Milwaukee Yamaha team and we want to make an impression.”

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