Keith Farmer and Kyle Ryde form Buildbase Suzuki BSB lineup for 2020
Buildbase Suzuki has announced today, at Motorcycle Live, that Kyle Ryde and Keith Farmer will race its GSX-R1000 superbikes in the 2020 Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
The duo bring a wealth of championship-winning pedigree to the team, boasting seven British titles between them. Ryde enjoyed a successful 2019, adding the British GP2 Championship to his National Superstock 600 title from 2014 and 125 Championship from 2011, while Farmer joins the team as a two-time National Superstock 1000 champion and former British Supersport and National Superstock 600 champion.
Ryde got a taste of Suzuki’s GSX-R1000 at the penultimate round of the Superstock 1000 championship at Donington Park, impressing with his lap times on his way to setting the fourth fastest time in qualifying, before a crash unfortunately ruled him out of the races.
Farmer was enjoying a good start to 2019, taking a number of top-10 finishes including a best of sixth at Brands Hatch, before an injury sustained at Knockhill put him out for the rest of the season. The experienced Northern Irishman is looking to make amends in 2020 and put himself among the Showdown contenders.
Kyle Ryde, “I’m really grateful to Steve [Hicken – team manager] for the opportunity. I enjoyed riding the superstock GSX-R at Donington, and to be honest I was looking for a Superstock 1000 ride for next season but Steve has given me this chance and I’m really thankful and looking forward to it. The stocker had a great chassis and gave me a good feeling from the front, which is one thing that’s really important to me as a rider. I know the superbike will be a different animal again but I’m in a team that has a lot of experience with the Suzuki, and a team that will help me learn and develop. If we can start off in the points, hopefully we can build from there and progress towards and into the top-10.”
Keith Farmer, “Last year started well but obviously I had the crash at Knockhill and the injury was pretty significant. Honestly, I didn’t expect to be in as good a shape as I am now, but since then I have done everything I can to keep fit and get back to full fitness as soon as possible. That’s been working in the gym, cycling, physio, and even changing my diet. I’ve been back on a supermoto bike to try and keep bike fit, and the movement I have in the legs and ankles is pretty good. I’m excited for next season, it’s a winning bike and I think I’ll have a team around me that want to give me as much bike time as possible so we can have the best season we can. The goal is top-10s from the start, and push towards the top-six and hopefully mix it with the Showdown contenders.”
Team manager Steve Hicken, “In Kyle and Keith we’ve got a good mix of youth and experience, but what they share is real talent and drive, something backed up by their number of championships. The goal is to get them as comfortable as possible, which will start with a three-day test in Spain at the start of December. We know Kyle will have a lot to learn but he’s shown he’s more than capable of adapting and we’re looking forward to helping him progress next season, while Keith has already shown he’s got what it takes to compete in BSB and we think we can battle for a Showdown position in 2020.”
