Danny Kent sticks with McAMS Racing for 2025

McAMS Racing are delighted to announce their continued relationship with Danny Kent for the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
 
The team’s decision to retain their flowering partnership with the 2015 Moto3 World Champion stems from what has been a strong first half of 2024, which has seen Kent fight for victories and podiums over the first six rounds, enjoying his strongest year in the BSB class to date.
 
With four podium finishes so far and five fourth-place results, Kent has been among the most consistent riders on the grid throughout 2024 and currently sits fifth overall in the championship standings.
 
69 points away from the series lead, the championship fight is not over yet, as both rider and team continue the relentless pursuit of securing a long-awaited debut victory in the class.
 
The official announcement of their 2025 plans comes during the seventh round of the 2024 season at Thruxton, where both Kent and the team have shown great potential in previous years.
 
Friday’s track action at this year’s outing to the Hampshire venue, ended with Kent and the team finishing fastest overall, starting the weekend with the means to go on.
 
Kent and the team joined forces for the first time this season, with the team’s owners of Mar-Train Heavy Haulage partnering with accident management firm, McAMS, part of the Direct Accident Management group, for only their second year in the Superbike class.
 
With a competitive history in the paddock and having stormed to two British Supersport titles, the team look to the future with the ambition of becoming British Champions of the most competitive domestic series in the world.
 
With plans for 2025 now sealed, the team can continue, fully focused on the remainder of the year, in which, after this weekend at Thruxton, only four rounds remain.

Danny Kent
Rider
“I’m very pleased to be continuing into 2025 with McAMS Racing. The team and I have a great relationship, so I’m looking forward to seeing it progress into another season on track. It’s always been my intention to continue with the same team. There’s still much more to come from both me and the bike, but so far this year, we’ve done a great job. We’ll get our heads down for the remainder of the 2024 season and continue to learn and improve as the year goes on. The hunt for our first race win is still on, I feel confident that we’ll be able to add it to the locker before the season is out, along with some extra podiums too.”

Tim Martin
Team Owner

“There’s still plenty to play for in 2024. We’ve been looking at our options for next year and are pleased to announce that Danny will be continuing with us for another year. I’m confident that together, we’ll be able to build on the progress we have already made during the first half of the year. Hopefully, we can carry that into the rest of the season and propel ourselves towards the front of the championship.”

Valentina Slater
McAMS

“We are really pleased the team has been able to retain Danny for the 2025 season and get the deal done really early, as it means they can fully focus during the second half of 2024 on achieving the best result possible. None of us knew what to expect coming into 2024 and it’s been a really strong first half of the year, so we’re looking forward to seeing the team fight on for more podiums and hopefully a first race win before the end of 2024, so we can hopefully fight for even more next year.”

Race One devastation for McAMS Racing at Thruxton

The opening race of the seventh round in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship ended in devastation for McAMS Racing and Danny Kent, who took an unfortunate DNF despite showing competitive form throughout the race.

Engulfed in a dramatic battle for the lead, Kent’s Yamaha R1 was tagged by a crash from behind on the final lap, forcing him wide and leading to an unfortunate mechanical issue.

Earlier in the weekend, McAMS Racing and Kent enjoyed a productive Friday on track to finish as the fastest overall during the opening day at Thruxton.

After Saturday’s announcement that McAMS Racing and Kent would retain their relationship for 2025, the team headed out on track for a brief Free Practice 3 session, demonstrating their proficiency around the 2.3-mile circuit to finish at the top yet again.

Sealing their spot in Qualifying 2 during a successful campaign on Friday, Kent hit the track at 13:52 with the focus on punching in a competitive lap time, worthy of a front-row start.

The 15-minute session ended with Kent securing a second-row start of fifth, while also demonstrating a competitive pace around the circuit.

With the race tactic of preserving tyre life in the opening stages, Kent made a steady start and slipped down to tenth by half race distance.

As the stint progressed, the rider from Tetbury made swift progress to appear at the front, entering the podium positions on the penultimate lap of the race.

A jaw-dropping final lap saw a host of overtakes at the front, with Kent remaining very much in the mix.

As the leading pack approached the final chicane, a crash from behind tagged Kent and forced him wide. An unfortunate mechanical issue followed the collision, which prevented the No.52 machine from crossing the line.

Despite another dose of unfortunate luck, the team remain in an optimistic spirit thanks to the competitive race pace throughout the final few laps.

The fight will continue into tomorrow, where the family-run outfit aims to appear at the front yet again, stirring things up in the podium positions.

With the team going from eighth on the grid in Race 2 tomorrow, Kent will have his work cut out from him from lights out.

As Saturday comes to a close, it’s all eyes towards the final day of action, where two further opportunities await.

Danny Kent
Race 1 – DNF
“I’m disappointed with today’s result. We ran a solid race and managed to progress to the front with only a handful of laps remaining. It was a shame to be involved in an incident out of my control, but these things happen when we ride to such extreme levels. Today, we proved that we have the pace to fight at the front. We’ll carry that forward with us tomorrow and aim to fight for a couple of podiums.”

Tim Martin
Team Owner

“What a race! Danny did everything right but unfortunately found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Up until that point, everything was going to plan. It’s just a shame that it had to end the way that it did. We can take the positives into tomorrow, we know we have the pace to keep up at the front, so today’s result isn’t the end of the world. We’ve got two more opportunities to fight tomorrow, where we hope to get the weekend back on track.”

Sunday comeback for Danny and McAMS Racing

Sunday’s track action at Thruxton was a successful affair for McAMS Racing and Danny Kent, who enjoyed a brace of podium finishes across the duo of races on Sunday.

The day’s success follows what was a challenging Saturday at the 2.3-mile circuit, which saw Kent and the family-run team take a DNF on the final lap of a front-running battle for the podium.

The team’s luck changed in the opening of Sunday’s duo of races, with Kent making his first return to the Bennetts BSB podium since Knockhill exactly eight weeks ago.

The 12-lap sprint kicked off in dramatic fashion, with an opening lap incident leading to a red flag stoppage, before a second 10-lap sprint was later confirmed.

Going from his original grid position, Kent made up a single spot on the opening lap and sat in seventh across the line.

Meanwhile, another opening lap incident affected Sunday’s sprint, with a safety car appearing on track throughout Lap 3 and 4 before the racing resumed at half race distance.

The final, 5-lap charge to victory provided a rush of thrill around the circuit. With palpable tension engulfing the McAMS Racing garage, Kent progressed forward into sixth to keep podium hopes alive.

A swift overtake at the final chicane on the penultimate lap gifted Kent a position in fourth, while the final lap attack on a podium finish commenced.

With a competitive pace and chasing the tail of third, it wasn’t long before Kent made his way into the leading three.

The rider from Tetbury edged past Josh Brookes at Turn 2 and pulled a gap of over 0.7s throughout the remainder of the final lap, eventually crossing the line just 0.8s behind the lead.

Having proved to possess a front-running pace, all eyes focused forward towards one final opportunity to claim glory at 16:15.

20 laps awaited the field as the final race of the weekend got underway. With Kent starting from second on the grid, the Yamaha R1 rider was placed in the perfect spot to mount an admirable attack on the podium.

Following similar tactics in the opening race of the Thruxton weekend, Kent spent the early stages of the race preserving tyres, with the aim of possessing competitive pace in the final stages of the race.

With a plan in mind, the No.52 rider remained patient within the opening laps. After dropping down to fifth, he reclaimed a spot within the top 3 as the field entered past half-race distance.

Chasing down the leading two, Kent took tenths out of the leader lap by lap, reaching the front runners on Lap 14.

A swift overtake into second on the following lap saw Kent establish himself as a contender for victory, as he began applying pressure on leader, Ryan Vickers with just a handful of laps remaining.

Despite his best efforts, the rider from Tetbury proved unable to get close enough to attempt an overtake for the lead but brought home his second podium finish of the weekend and his sixth so far in the 2024 season.

Walking away from the seventh round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, McAMS Racing and Kent sit sixth in the standings, with 178 points and just 20 points from fifth.

The next stop on the 2024 calendar sees the series return to Cadwell Park, where both rider and team aim to produce more of the same in the pursuit of adding an added host of points to their campaign.

Danny Kent
Race 2 – P3
Race 3 – P2
“I’m feeling good after this weekend and pleased to repay the team with a couple of podiums after the weekend we had at Brands Hatch. The team worked so well over the weekend and gave me a great bike. I feel like I rode well and I’m happy to walk away with two trophies in hand. This weekend has helped my confidence as we move forward into the remainder of the season, I’m looking forward to seeing what’s possible at Cadwell Park.”

Tim Martin
Team Owner

“Today we made a great recovery. Danny rode exceptionally well and managed to secure two podiums to add to the bag for this season. We’re really impressed with his pace throughout both races today. Unfortunately, a win wasn’t possible, but with a good set of points for the championship, we have plenty of positives to carry towards Cadwell Park. It’s been a great weekend for us as a team and all of the guests had a great time.”