BSS: MSS Discovery and Murphy part company.

Kieran Murphy and MSS Discovery Kawasaki have mutually agreed to go their separate ways before the start of the 2007 season.

The 27-year-old rider from Ipswich joined the team for the 2006 season, scoring his best result of fourth at Silverstone.

"I'm gutted that this season hasn't come off, as I wanted to build on our relationship and be a title contender on the new ZX-6R which I'm sure will be competitive with Stuart and the MSS Discovery Kawasaki team behind him," said Murphy, "I've had some brilliant times with the team and we part on the best of terms so who knows, maybe we can work again together in the future?"

The team haven't taken the decision lightly as team owner Nick Morgan explained, "It's always a tough decision to make, but we felt that it would be best to streamline our operation to effectively make two, single rider teams so that we can put our maximum effort behind Stuart Easton in the British Supersport class and Michael Rutter in the Superbike class. 2007 is a big year for us, as we've become the only Kawasaki factory team, so with this commitment to Kawasaki Motors UK and our other sponsors and partners we felt this was the best course of action to take."

Joint team owner Stuart Simmonds added: "We've had a great year with Kieran and he's shown some real form, so it was a very tough decision to make, but he's got some strong support and sponsors and we know he's sorted for next year so we're looking forward to seeing him in the paddock and we wish him all the best for the future."

Murphy will be on track this season but in the National Superstock class, "We've put together an amalgam of sponsors such as Goldstar Transport, Pidcocks, Crescent Suzuki and my product sponsors to get a pair of GSX-R1000K7s and try and win the Superstock championship. I wish MSS Discovery Kawasaki all the best for 2007 and beyond."