Be Wiser Kawasaki withdraws from rest of BSB season

Be Wiser Kawasaki has pulled out of the remainder of the 2015 MCE British Superbike championship due to a lack of sponsorship backing.

28 Sep 2015

The Be Wiser Kawasaki team has pulled out of the remainder of the 2015 MCE British Superbike championship, citing a lack of sponsorship as the cause behind the decision.

AP Kawasaki Ltd - which runs under the Be Wiser title sponsorship - has informed MSV it is unable to see out its commitments for the final two rounds of the season at Silverstone and Brands Hatch. The decision leaves Chris Walker and Danny Buchan without a ride.

Alan Greig, Be Wiser Kawasaki team principal, says a lack of funding from sponsors has made continuing unsustainable and didn't want the team to continue to rack up large debts.

"We've had to leave and do the honourable thing for our sponsors," Greig told Crash.net. "The sponsors which Tommy Hill brought in when he joined have withdrawn and I couldn't keep going back to other sponsors asking for money for the rest of the year.

"So sadly we're going to have to sell all our assets to pay our bills and pay the team. We will sell the hospitality and bike units so we can pay and leave with honour. Hopefully we will set an example to other teams. It's a sad state of affairs but we wanted to do the honourable thing."

Former BSB champion Tommy Hill joined the squad as team manager at the start of the season but split from Be Wiser Kawasaki on the eve of round eight at Cadwell Park in August.

AP Kawasaki made the step up from the National Superstock class at the start of 2015 with backing from Kawasaki UK and title sponsors Be Wiser, signing BSB veteran Walker alongside 2014 Superstock champion Buchan.

Greig says he feels sorry for the riders and the whole team after being forced to prematurely cut short their campaign, especially after enjoying a successful second half of the season with Buchan claiming his maiden BSB rostrums at Oulton Park earlier this month.

"We were hoping to have a strong finish to the season at two tracks Danny's gone really well at in the past," he added. "I believe Danny will be supported by his sponsors and MSS Performance Colchester Kawasaki for the rest of the year but I'm not sure about Chris Walker's future.

"We had ambitions of retaining our riders and pushing on next season with the new Kawasaki. People forget we've been a team for seven years but it is looking difficult that we'll be able to return in 2016."

MSV has confirmed it is working with other interested parties to investigate further options for the rest of the season.