Craig Jones says he can't wait for the 2008 World Supersport campaign to get underway now the uncertainty over his future has subsided, having agreed terms to remain with Reve Honda for a second successive year.
The Cheshire ace wound up an impressive fifth in his rookie WSS season as the team's sole representative in the series, and came on particularly strong in the latter stages, with a number of noteworthy performances that yielded podium finishes. Now his new contract is all signed and sealed, Jones is aiming to make those rostrum appearances a far more regular occurrence in 2008.
We've been working really hard since Magny-Cours to put the deal together, he told
Crash.net Radio. I was under a lot of pressure from a couple of different teams to make a decision, but I just thought it out to the end. They gave me time and eventually we managed to put a deal together to stay put.
It's a merger between ourselves and Parkalgare I believe the team is going to be called Parkalgare Honda as they're obviously the sponsor. We're running Miguel Praia as my team-mate; we're obviously having to increase the size of the team to cope with another rider, but that isn't proving to be too difficult.
We've got a new manager in Simon Buckmaster as well, and we're trying to keep as many of the mechanics on as we can. The team is still going to be run from the UK, with all the technical expertise of our mechanics and engine-tuners and so on to help put a package together that hopefully we can then go out and win the championship with.
It may be a lofty ambition, but Jones' determination is clear to see, and having had to wait so long before finally getting his international racing break, he evidently does not intend to squander the opportunity. He is also pleased to see three other Brits joining him in the WSS ranks next year in the shape of Tommy Hill, Chris Walker and Jonny Rea and he believes all of them will be more than capable of fighting up at the sharp end of proceedings.
