James Ellison has departed the Smiths Racing BMW team following round seven on the 2019 Bennetts British Superbike Championship after failing demonstrate pace closer to team-mate Peter Hickman.
The experienced 15-time BSB race winner was set to retire at the end of the 2018 season before personal issues preluded him to agree a late new deal with Smiths Racing alongside Peter Hickman aboard the latest generation BMW S1000RR.
However, with the late delivery of its new BMWs coupled to Ellison's general difficulty in getting acquainted with the bike, his best results can be found at the lower end of the top 15, even if he did enjoy his best meeting of the year at Thruxton over the weekend, running as high as second in one race.
“James was on an identical bike to Pete this weekend but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get the results neither he nor we had hoped for. As a result, we have had a chat and decided that we will go our separate ways so would like to thank James for his efforts this season and we wish him well in the future.”
Smiths BMW hasn't announced Ellison's replacement but with Hickman back on the podium this weekeed, the available seat is likely to be much sought after by those currently on the grid and beyond.
