Ian Lowry switches to MSS Colchester Kawasaki

MSS Colchester Kawasaki has announced Ian Lowry will join the team for the final three rounds of the 2011 MCE British Superbike Championship at Donington Park, Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

Lowry comes on board as the new substitute for Stuart Easton following MSS Colchester Kawasaki's split with Alex Lowes, the Ulsterman himself jumping from rival team Buildbase BMW to join Gary Mason in the Kawasaki UK backed team.

Indeed, Lowry - who finished inside the overall top five on his BSB debut in 2009 - has struggled for form on the Buildbase BMW and is currently languishing 24th in the standings with a best result of ninth. Nonetheless, he is hoping the move to MSS Colchester Kawasaki will revive his fortunes.

"It's well known things haven't gone that well since my first year in BSB and I tried a few other options but this is a massive lifeline from MSS Colchester Kawasaki to really prove my worth," he said.

"The bike looks great out on track when I've followed it and it's clearly good enough for podiums as both Gary and Stuart have shown so I'm really excited to ride it. I like all three of the tracks we're going to and Donington is my favourite by far so that's positive."

The move signals a return to Kawasaki for Lowry having been tapped as its replacement for Chris Vermeulen on the World Superbike stage in 2010, the 24-year-old doing a solid job to score points in three of the six races he competed.

"I have a good relationship with some of the Kawasaki guys after Paul Bird ran me out in World Superbikes so everything is in place, it's just down to me!"

Team manager Nick Morgan, meanwhile, is delighted to have Lowry coming on board as he eyes a strong end to the year for MSS Colchester Kawasaki.

"Ian is a class act as he showed in his debut year in BSB and we're delighted to have him on-board for the rest of the season. It may seem very soon after our announcement of Alex leaving but the reality is the team needs two riders on board every week for results and development. We're going to try and let him get a run-out before Donington although it's quite late notice and we have a bit of crash damage to fix still!"

Lowrys departure from Buildbase BMW, coupled to John Laverty's season-ending crash at Oulton Park, leaves the team with no riders in the championship class at this moment, though Barry Burrell is proving competitive on the S1000RR in the EVO category.