Ballymoney based Millsport Racing has secured the services of Irish and Ulster Road Racing Superbike champion Dan Kneen, to compete at the three major International events during 2015, as well as hand-picked national road races and the Adelaide Masters’ Superbike series.
Millsport return to the roads after a sabbatical, having enjoyed a number of years competing in the British Superbike and Superstock classes. And having recently acquired a Suzuki dealership for their contemporary Ballymoney premises, James and Patrick Murray’s team will run a full stable of GSX-R machinery during 2015 – under the team name, Millsport Suzuki.
Kneen is a long time supporter of the Suzuki brand and having recently won the Irish and Ulster titles aboard a GSX-R1000, the 27-year-old said it was an easy decision to join Millsport Racing for 2015.
Dan Kneen:
“Once I found out Millsport were going to have a direct Suzuki connection, I knew it would be the right move for me. I’m also looking forward to racing in the Adelaide Masters’ Series on a Millsport Suzuki, as I enjoy the circuits as much as the roads and it will give me valuable track time on the team’s new bikes. I just want to go that bit faster than this season and hopefully that will be enough to get me the results I’d like on the Millsport Suzukis.”
Team Manager Patrick Murray said of the team’s new signing: “Dan is a young and very capable road racer, and he proved this season that he can mix it with the very best. He is the Irish Superbike champion on the roads and won the Superstock class at the Ulster Grand Prix back in August, so he was the correct choice for us here at Millsport Suzuki. It’s an exciting time for us teaming up with Suzuki and we are looking forward to hopefully taking Dan to his first TT win in the next few years.”
The deal with the 27-year-old Manxman is for one year at present, but team owner James Murray believes it could be the start of an exciting partnership, as he explained:
“Dan’s a nice lad and having spoken to a number of riders he’s the one we believed would fit in best at Millsport Suzuki. Our goal is to enjoy our season and be as competitive as possible, with the main focus being the North West 200, Isle of Man TT and Ulster Grand Prix.
“We will also take in a few national events, the Southern 100 and also the Macau Grand Prix at the end of the year, and I think it’s a great idea for Dan to do the Masters series at Mondello for extra track time. We do enjoy working with Fergus [Brennan] and the team down there at the Mondello circuit.”