Tarran’s ready to defend title with his McAMS team
BRITISH Superbike Champion Tarran Mackenzie will look to defend his crown in 2022 after signing a one-year extension to his deal with the McAMS Yamaha team.
The 26-year-old Scot took 10 victories and 19 podiums on his way to the 2021 title, sealing the deal with a stunning treble victory at Brands Hatch in October.
The success was even more poignant given it came exactly 25 years after his dad, Niall, won the first-ever modern-era British Superbike Championship title in 1996.
Now, the youngest Mackenzie will be seeking to further mirror his father’s accolades, with Niall having gone on to win back-to-back titles, doubling up in 1997 with the Cadbury’s Boost Yamaha squad.
Next year will be Tarran’s fifth season with McAMS Yamaha on the R1 superbike, having first joined the squad when he returned from Moto2 in 2018.
Taking to the podium as a rookie that season before clinching his first win in year two, Mackenzie has improved year by year and now sits on 13 British Superbike wins and 33 podiums from 92 starts.
In 2021, he became stronger and stronger throughout the season, winning five of the final nine races to finish the year 36 points clear of nearest rival Tommy Bridewell.
The Stirlingshire rider has made no secret of his desire to progress to the world stage and, in the hope of helping him realise that dream, McAMS Yamaha intends to enter him as a wildcard into certain rounds of the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship.
Returning to the track as champion in 2022, Mackenzie will run the No 1 plate on his McAMS-liveried R1 as he seeks to become the first rider to successfully defend his crown since Shane Byrne in 2017.
He said: “I’m really happy to be staying with McAMS Yamaha in BSB for 2022 – there’s no doubt that the R1 is the bike to be on.
“The best bit for me is I know there’s more to come from the package, too. We visited the Yamaha Racing HQ in Italy a couple of weeks ago and we’ve got some really exciting new parts to come that will hopefully move us on even more.
“I’ve not exactly hidden that I would like to progress to the world stage, so I have to thank team principal Steve Rodgers, the team and Yamaha for the opportunity to do some World Superbike wildcards next year.
“It will be my fifth year riding a superbike for Steve and the McAMS team, and I’m really proud to go into next season looking to defend our crown running the No 1.”