The 2009 British Supersport Championship, which is second only to the British Superbike Championship in terms of prestige, will be sponsored for the second consecutive season by the world’s largest specialist motorcycle and motorsport lubricants provider, Fuchs-Silkolene. In addition to the Supersport class title sponsorship, Fuchs-Silkolene also continues as an official sponsor of the 2009 British Superbike Championship. Russell Kenyon, Sales and Marketing Director at Fuchs Lubricants (UK) Plc said: “We are thrilled to continue our title sponsorship of what proved to be an exciting and close fought championship in 2008. We look forward to the forthcoming race season and our sponsorship of the British Supersport Championship. The continued investment in the Silkolene range and this announcement of our continued sponsorship will further demonstrate our commitment, and show how Fuchs-Silkolene continues to be at the forefront of the motorcycle lubricants industry.” Stuart Higgs, BSB Series Director said:”We are delighted that Fuchs-Silkolene has renewed their title sponsorship of the British Supersport Championship. The series is second only to BSB in terms of stature and this is reflected in the depth of the field and by the continued representation of the major motorcycle manufacturers.” The 2008 Championship was won by Glen Richards aboard the Triumph 675, giving Triumph their first major British Championship victory in over 30 years. The title win put Richards back in BSB for 2009 throwing the field wide open ahead of the new season. The championship is renowned for being a battle ground for manufacturers to go head-to-head, with the past three championship titles claimed by three different manufacturers. The Championship has also increasingly become the place for British Superbike teams to find new talent, with Ian Lowry one of the latest of the Supersport front-runners to graduate to BSB. Steve Plater is the first of the main contenders ahead of the new season after securing a deal to join HM Plant Honda for 2009, he had a string of podiums in 2008 so is well placed to throw down the gauntlet to his rivals. The International opposition is going to be strong though, with South African Hudson Kennaugh set to renew ontrack rivalries and gunning to go one better in 2009 on the Seton-tuned Honda. Australian Billy McConnell makes his comeback for 2009 onboard the MAP Raceways Yamaha and he will be joined by the 2008 National Superstock 600 champion, 19 year old Lee Johnston from Northern Ireland. Reigning champions Triumph return with a new team partner of NCT Racing and two new riders with Lee Jackson and James Westmoreland. There are several other home-grown heroes who will want to uphold the UK honour, with James Webb lining up for Padgetts Honda, Dennis Hobbs for Centurion Racing Honda and the Gearlink Kawasaki charge coming from Ben Wilson and Chris Martin. Dan Linfoot moves to the Championship running NW200 Coca-Cola Zero colours in the Rob Mac Racing Yamaha squad. Running along side the main class is the Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Cup class. 2009 will see a mix of riders graduating from the National Superstock 600 class and those with limited Supersport experience. The Supersport Cup champion is decided over 10 rounds rather than 12 allowing riders to discount their worst two scores. All Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship races will be broadcast live on British Eurosport. The opening race of the 2009 Fuchs-Silkolene British Supersport Championship takes place at Brands Hatch on Easter weekend (10/11/12/13 April) and for further news and information visit www.britishsuperbike.com