Hucknall's Richard Cooper ready for MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship challenge

After joining the Buildbase BMW team mid-way through the 2015 season, Cooper took a handful of top six finishes and looked set to take the Riders’ Cup before an injury ruled him out of the final round at Brands Hatch.

The 33-year-old will join Lincolnshire youngster Lee Jackson in the team, which returns to fielding two riders in the Superbike class for the 2016 season.

Alongside Cooper and Jackson, Taylor Mackenzie will head up the team’s return to the Pirelli National Superstock championship, which they won with Cooper in 2011.

The 22-year-old former 125 GP racer is determined to be a title fighter in the 1000cc production class aboard the Buildbase BMW S1000RR.

Cooper said: “It’s great to be staying on with the Buildbase BMW team. I’m looking forward to completing a full season with them as I only joined half way through last year.

“We made great progress in the time we had together in 2015 and I’m confident we can take this into the upcoming season.

“As soon as I came back to the team I felt at home immediately so sticking with them for 2016 seemed natural.”

Team manager Steve Hicken said he was looking forward to Cooper buoilding on the promise shown last year.

He added: “I’m really pleased to have secured Richard to continue with the team next year.

“He showed a lot of promise in 2015, he’s shown he’s capable of podiums if not more so we’ll be looking to get behind him and taking it to the next level this year.

“We’ll also be back in the National Superstock series with Taylor Mackenzie, something I’m really pleased about. I think he’ll be really suited to the BMW and he’s certainly talented enough to run at the front and challenge for the title.

“We are looking forward to releasing further exciting news in the coming weeks.”

Pic cap: Richard Cooper is ready to go. Pic by Jamie Morris Photography.