Reigning Motorpoint British Supersport Champion Billy McConnell will return to the blue riband MCE British Superbike class next season as his Smith’s team will run a single-bike BMW effort alongside their 600cc team (click here).

McConnell last raced in the big class in 2008 with MSS Kawasaki and then returned to Supersport, finally taking the title for Smith’s Triumph this year with team-mate Graeme Gowland in second place.

“I’ve not been in British Superbikes for a while because the right opportunity didn’t come up and there is no point in going there just to make up the numbers. You need a good bike and a good team around you, and that is what I have with Smith’s and the BMW,” said McConnell, speaking to bikesportnews.com from Spain.

“I’m good mates with Troy Corser, so I think we will get some help with data and that kind of thing from his association with BMW and we will be testing early next year, sometime in January I would think.

“It’s a very exciting thing to be involved in. We talked about it towards the end of last season because Smith’s wanted to go into BSB and it was really down to whoever won the Supersport title.

“The time is right now and I’m really looking forward to racing the BMW. I’m a little nervous too so I will be happy to get our test programme underway.”