Saturday:

The opening day of action at Round One of the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship saw McAMS Racing and rider, Danny Kent storm to a magnificent pole position ahead of tomorrow’s opening race of the year.This evening’s remarkable effort saw Kent ride to a career first pole position start, while also taking the family-run team to a first-ever spot at the front of the grid in only their second full year in the Superbike championship.

Kent’s pole position stint in the first Superpole session of the year saw him shave over two-tenths off his fastest lap from testing, coming across the line to set an impeccable time of 1:36.609.

Prior to his lap, the session was briefly delayed due to checking track conditions following a mechanical issue for Tommy Bridewell on his Superpole lap.

The red flag incident led to a longer wait for Kent before hitting the track. Despite the added tension, he was able to bring the R1 home at the top, putting the increased anticipation to the back of his mind and completing his best lap of the weekend so far.

The opening day of the year started out strong for Kent and the team, who finished third in the standings as Free Practice 1 came to a close. A shorter Free Practice 2 session was a steady affair for the team in blue, finishing eleventh overall with his Superpole lap lying just around the corner.

An enormous sense of pride lies within the McAMS Racing by Mar-Train garage as the team head into tomorrow. With a head full of confidence in their ability to be competitive, the squad are fully focused on the opening two races of the year.

Danny Kent

Superpole: 1st (1:36.609)
“I’m absolutely over the moon for myself and the McAMS Racing by Mar-Train team. They did a mega job throughout pre-season testing and the work that we did definitely contributed towards our result today. If I’m completely honest, I wasn’t expecting to get pole position. My used tyre pace is much better than my one-lap pace, so I’m feeling very confident heading into tomorrow. I feel like we can be competitive and can’t wait to get out on track again to see what we can do.”

Tim Martin
Team Owner

“We knew we had a pace after two days of testing, we’ve been really strong on worn tyres but weren’t getting the best out of new rubber. It’s a little bit of a shock to be heading into tomorrow on pole position. It was a great lap by Danny, and the red flag incident didn’t put him in a great position. His time in sector one was a few tenths off what he could have been possible, but he managed to pull it back in the last two sectors to bring it home in pole. It’s the first pole position for us as a team and it’ll also be Danny’s first too, we’ve both done it together which feels great. There are a lot of fast guys out there for tomorrow, it would be great to follow today up with a first podium finish tomorrow.”

Sunday:

This weekend, the McAMS Racing by Mar-Train team rode to an impeccable double podium finish at the opening round of the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship.

Having constructed an admirable pole position lap during Saturday’s Superpole session, Kent started from the front of the grid. Demonstrating a strong race pace from start to finish, he secured the third spot on the podium and gifted the squad their first top-three finish in the championship.

The final race of the weekend saw Kent set off from second on the grid. Having made an exceptional start from the line, he soon fought his way through to the front, maintaining a commanding lead for several laps before dropping back into second.

Maintaining second place for the remainder of the race, Kent went on to clench a second podium of the weekend, ending Round 1 in high spirits.

With Round 2 of the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park lying just around the corner, Kent and the team sit joint second in the standings with 30 points in total and just six away from the top.

The R1-powered squad are back out on track at Oulton Park for an additional stint of testing on the 1-2 of May, ahead of the Bank Holiday race weekend held from the 4-6 May.

Danny Kent
Race 1 – P3
Race 2 – P2

“I feel over the moon to have started the year off with two podium finishes. The team and I worked really hard throughout testing in the week, so it’s nice to see it all come together during a race weekend. The bike didn’t feel 100% in the first race, but we made some changes ahead of Race 2 which resolved the issue we were having. As always, a big thanks to the team, they did a mega job this weekend and it was great to reward them with their first podium in the championship. Now it’s full focus towards Round 2 at Oulton Park in a couple of weeks.”

Tim Martin
Team Owner

“Well, that’s the first round of the season over. It was a dream come true for the team to get our first-ever podium finish in the British Superbike Championship. To come away from the first race weekend of the year with two trophies means the world. The team have worked really hard, so it’s nice to see it all come together when it matters. I’d like to give a huge thanks to all of our incredible sponsors who are supporting us this year. It’s been a great first round, but we’re nowhere near finished yet. Let’s hope we can take that momentum forward to Oulton Park.”