Leon Haslam has passed on an opportunity to return to the WorldSBK paddock in 2018 and will remain with the JG Speedfit-backed Bournemouth Kawasaki MCE British Superbike squad next season.
The Derby rider had been in protracted discussions with the Puccetti Kawasaki team about a move back into the WorldSBK paddock but has decided to remain with his current team as it is a more competitive package. He will again be joined by Luke Mossey.
“The Donington podium was a really great thing in front of a home crowd but the works Kawasaki and Ducati teams are so strong, the package was only realistically enough for fifth and sixth places regularly, and I would prefer to stay and try and win a second BSB title, should this year go to plan,” Haslam told bikesportnews.com.
“Manuel Puccetti is such an enthusiastic guy but unless you’re on one of those bikes, you aren’t necessarily going to be any higher than fourth in the championship. The second at Donington was unbelievable, but it was a bit of a one-off because Jonathan and Chaz crashed, and Marco wasn’t at the top of his game.
“The distance from me to Tom was massive which kind of highlighted the potential and the gap is not a small one - that’s why the results in WorldSBK are how they are. I wanted to go back there, but I wanted to be competitive and to only finish in fifths and sixths, and maybe sometimes eighth, isn’t what I wanted. Plus looking at it, Kawasaki have already got two guys capable of finishing first and second, and they happen to be British.”
Haslam will remain a Kawasaki Europe-contracted rider and the deal should include a berth in the works Suzuka Eight-Hours team as well as WorldSBK wildcards or replacement rides should the need arise. His plan now is to strengthen the bike and team setup over the winter in order to go into next year stronger than ever.
“I want to keep the same people and team structure in place but with a better layout of the structure. So far as I am concerned, it was an easy choice as I can win with Bournemouth Kawasaki and the idea is to improve the package that we have, and move forward with the team that we have.
“For this year, we want to move everyone into the same workshops, employ the same strategies and also have people working full time instead of just at weekends.”
Whether or not Haslam’s planned Jerez and Qatar wildcards will happen is still up in the air as it depends on who Puccetti signs for next season to ride alongside Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, and if they are contracturally available to race this year.
