Tom Tunstall is back riding in British Superbikes this weekend!

The Denby Dale ace has not competed for 18 months following pelvic injuries and then time pressures managing his Doodson Motorsport team rider Robbin Harms last season.

But Tunstall is now back in the saddle himself after an off-season switch from Honda to the Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock machine, and he simply can’t wait for the action at Brands Hatch Indy to get under way.

“After the challenges of last year, I’m really enjoying riding again – you could say the fire is burning once again,” said Tunstall, who
headed south yesterday.

“That’s the main goal, just to be enjoying my riding again and, if I’m doing that, then everything else will look after itself.

“Superstock 1000 is probably the most competitive class in the championship, with two groups for qualifying and pretty similar machines, so I’m really looking forward to it.

“I’ve been very impressed with the Kawasaki in testing and it’s just been a case of me getting back into the groove again – not so much from a physical point of view but mentally, getting up to speed on the bike again and getting the brain working.”

It’s the seventh year of sponsorship from Doodson Broking Group for Tunstall, who tested at Cartagena in Spain, and he’s hoping to get off to a bright start in Monday’s race, the first of a 12-round championship.

“Last season was tough, but I learned a lot from the experiences and it’s all now very much behind me,” added Tunstall.

“Whatever happens results wise this season, it will just be great to be racing a bike again and to be sitting on the grid waiting for it all to get under way.”

James Lodge is in the Superstock 600 with Motobreakers Racing this season.

He had hoped to move up into the new Supersport Evo Class, but hasn’t been able to secure the budget.

“I’ve done a bit of pre-season testing and the bike feels ok, but the real test is when we start racing again,” said Lodge.

“The first round is this weekend at Brands Hatch and hopefully we can get a good result.”

His brother Jonathan, Holmfirth’s Joe Irving and promising James Pickford are also in action this weekend.