After winning the BSB 2021 title in a thrilling Showdown series in 2021, Tarran Mackenzie has today confirmed he’ll stay with McAMS Yamaha for 2022 in order to defend his crown.
Confirmed in a press release issued this morning, Taz has signed a one-year contract extension and is aiming to retain his title in 2022 with his fifth year with the Yamaha team.
Quoted from the press release, Tarran Mackenzie said:
“I’m really happy to be staying with McAMS Yamaha in BSB for 2021 – there’s no doubt that the R1 is the bike to be on, you only have to look at the fact that between us, Jason and I won 21 out of 33 races this season.”
Taking 10 victories and 19 podiums on his way to the 2021 title, the 26-year-old sealed the hard-fought title with triple wins at Brands Hatch in October, winning five of the final nine races and finishing 36 points clear of Tommy Bridewell, his nearest rival.
This all comes 25 years after his dad, Niall Mackenzie, won the first-ever modern-era British Superbike Championship in 1996 - going on to defend his title in 1997 on the Cadbury’s Boost Yamaha team.
The last rider to defend his BSB crown was Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne in 2017, Taz is hoping to be the next.
Will Tarran Mackenzie defend his 2021 BSB crown?
Sporting the #1 plate on his McAMS R1, Taz is also eyeing up the chance to make the step up to World Superbikes, starting with a few wildcards next year.
“I’ve not exactly hidden that I would like to progress to the world stage, so I have to thank Steve Rodgers, the team and Yamaha for the opportunity to do some World Superbike wildcards next year.
“It will be my fifth year riding a superbike for Steve and the McAMS team, and I’m really proud to go into that fifth year looking to defend our crown running the #1.”
It has been an immensely successful 2021 for Yamaha on track, earning titles in 7 of the top racing championships the world over, including rider titles with Fabio Quartararo in MotoGP, Toprak Razgatlioglu in WorldSBK, and Jake Gagne in MotoAmerica.
It seems Yamaha is keen to build on this success, with Taz confirming a few upgrades due for the enamoured R1 based machine.
“The best bit for me is I know there’s more to come from the package too, we visited Yamaha Racing HQ in Italy a couple of weeks ago and we’ve got some really exciting new parts to come which will hopefully move us on even more.”
