Despite already being regarded as the biggest domestic superbike series in the world, new commercial rights holder Jonathan Palmer has expressed his desire to make the British Superbike Championship even bigger and better over the coming seasons.
Palmer's Motorsport Vision group will take over the organisation and promotion of the series this year after inking terms on a ten-year deal with the Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board which will see the company take over from Dorna Sports, which also holds the commercial rights to
MotoGP.
The move will increase MSV's involvement in the series, with the company already playing host to half of the events on the 2008 calendar, and the series will now be run by MSVR, Motorsport Vision's racing division, from its base at
Brands Hatch.
Having already improved the facilities at each of his circuits since MSV took over Brands Hatch,
Oulton Park, Cadwell Park and
Snetterton, Palmer now has his sights firmly fixed on improving what is already a strong package in the BSB, and has admitted that securing the commercial rights to the series was a real coup for the company
“It's very exciting indeed,” he told
Crash.net Radio. “The BSB is Britain's biggest national championship and the gates are even bigger than we see for British Touring Cars. However, it's no surprise as the entertainment on track is outstanding. Bikes, as I found out when I took over the circuits in 2004, do provide fantastic entertainment. They overtake and they obviously have some pretty big moments as well. When a car spins off its one thing but, when someone drops a bike, it's a real heart in the mouth spectacle!
“The riders in it though are such pros and, as a car driver, you have to have such respect for guys who can sit on a bike with 200 horsepower, a contact patch the size of your hand, no downforce and race shoulder-to-shoulder as they do, regardless of the conditions. They are also good with the crowd and I feel it will be a very exciting era for us.”
