Bennetts British Superbike Champion Tarran Mackenzie will look to defend his crown in 2022 after signing a one-year extension to his deal with the McAMS Yamaha team.

The 26-year-old took ten victories and 19 podiums on his way to the 2021 title, sealing the deal with a stunning treble victory at Brands Hatch in October. The success was even more poignant given it came exactly 25 years after Tarran’s father, Niall Mackenzie, won the first ever modern-era British Superbike Championship title in 1996.

Now, the youngest Mackenzie will be seeking to further mirror his father’s accolades with Niall having gone on to win back-to-back titles, doubling up in 1997 with the Cadbury’s Boost Yamaha squad.

2022 will be Mackenzie’s fifth year with McAMS Yamaha on the R1 superbike, having first joined the squad when he returned from Moto2 in 2018. Taking to the podium as a rookie that season before clinching his first win in year two, Mackenzie has improved year by year and now sits on 13 British Superbike wins and 33 podiums from 92 starts.

In 2021, Mackenzie became stronger and stronger throughout the season, winning five of the final nine races to finish the year 36 points clear of nearest rival Tommy Bridewell.

The youngster has made no secret of his desire to progress to the world stage and in the hope of helping him realise that dream, McAMS Yamaha intends to enter him as a wildcard into certain rounds of the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship – further details of which will be revealed in due course.

Returning to the track as champion in 2022, Mackenzie has opted to run the #1 plate on his McAMS-liveried R1 as he seeks to become the first rider to successfully defend his crown since Shane Byrne in 2017.

Tarran Mackenzie – 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Champion
“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. 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. 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.”

Steve Rodgers – Team Principal
“We are delighted that Tarran will remain part of the family in 2022. He did such a fantastic job in the 2021 season, taking us to our first British Championship. In the final few rounds of the season, he without doubt raised the bar so if he can carry that form into 2022 he will be a force to be reckoned with.

“We aren’t resting on our laurels, 2021 was our most successful season to date but there are a number of areas in which we know we can improve. There were a few parts run by the factory WorldSBK team towards the end of last season that we’ll be running at the start of 2022 so hopefully we can hit the ground running with an even better package.”