Kevin revs up for British Superbike spectacular

“FOR me, personally, I see the potential in him, and I want to give him the opportunity to be as good as we think he is. We don’t want to look back in ten years’ time and wonder what might have been.”

So Mark Coyne said of his 18-year-old son, Kevin, this week as he launched his 2020 British Superbike Championship campaign, set to get underway in a little over a month’s time.

It’s been a remarkable ascent for the young Farranfore motorbike racer, for whom this is just his second year competing, and it comes a little over two years on from first dipping his toes in the sport.

Kevin will compete at the Junior Supersport level of the Championship, described as a key aim for British and Irish riders, and the launch of his campaign took place on Tuesday morning at Robertino’s restaurant in Killarney, part sponsors of Kevin’s bike.

“His schedule has been fast-forwarded due to the COVID-19 situation,” Mark explained to The Kerryman, after racing in Ireland fell through for the year. “He has one year’s experience behind him, first competing in the Junior Cup before progressing to Junior Supersport in Mondello Park. So he’s relatively new to racing and is showing great promise.”

Indeed Kevin was in Spain last March for testing, where racing royalty such as Michael Dunlop and Ryan Farquhar noticed Kevin and agreed that he had potential, offering their considerable expertise thereafter.

The rescheduled British Superbike Championship gets underway in early August in Donnington Park, and the season is expected to continue until mid-October, with Eurosport coverage thrown into the already-alluring package. Before that, Kevin will test this coming weekend at Mondello Park before taking part in a Thundersport GB event in Donnington in late July. Preparations on Kevin’s Kawasaki Ninja 400 are ongoing with help from John O’Grady of JOG Tuning.

“We’re a family with an interest in motorsport, and while Kevin didn’t show any interest in earlier years, he has developed that interest, and now he’s over-exceeding expectations for the experience he has,” Mark said. “Our aim for the series would be to get into the top 20.

“We’re a small family-run team, and we are so grateful to a long list of local sponsors, because this wouldn’t be possible without them.”

Anyone interested in following Kevin’s progress should keep an eye on his Facebook page at ‘Kevin Coyne Racing #64’.

Photo by Domnick Walsh Mark Coyne with his son, Kevin.