Kilkenny’s Richie Ryan will be gearing up for the new Dunlop Masters Superbike Championship after the calendar for 2021 was revealed.
Having run a reduced programme in 2020, the Masters promoters are planning for a seven event championship in ’21.
The calendar will kick off with its traditional two day test weekend at the end of March, but will not commence race action until well into April.
The late start is aimed at facilitating competitors in preparing for the new season, following the uncertainty of the past year, as the Masters looks to get back to the expansion it had achieved during 2019.
Richie made superbike championship history in September 2019 as he came out on top of the superbike battle to become the first triple champion in the history of the class.
Following a successful collaboration over the past three seasons, the Masters Championship has secured the backing and support of Dunlop until the end of 2022. Along with providing tyres for the Superbike and Supersport classes, Dunlop will also continue as title sponsor of the Mondello Park promoted series which will continue to be named the Dunlop Masters Superbike Championship.
Speaking about the new season and the renewed deal with Dunlop, championship co-ordinator Fergus Brennan said. “2020 was very tough for everyone and Motorcycle racing was not really a priority for many of our competitors, however we were encouraged by the support we received for the one event that we did get to complete and by the entry for the second planned event which unfortunately had to be cancelled at short notice. We know that there is a great appetite amongst competitors, who are itching to get back racing, but we feel that the late start will help us provide a more secure calendar and that the riders and the championship will benefit from the April start”.
The 2021 Dunlop Masters Superbike Championship gets under way with two days of testing at Mondello Park on March 27th & 28th followed by one event at the end of each month, through to September.