Superbike boss Lee Hardy said he was taking a season out of the British Superbike Championship to focus on road racing.

After 11 years in the championship, Hardy took the decision to opt out this year due to a lack of funding.

“If we can’t get to the stage where we’re competing for the title, I need to take a year out to look at new ways of getting sponsorship,” said Hardy.

Hardy will instead enter North West 200, Isle of Man TT and the Macau GP.

After years of punching above their weight, the team has decided to take the pressure off and try something different.

“We’ve done a great job for a small team in Norfolk to be in the championship for 11 years,” said Hardy, based in Swaffham.

“I didn’t want to be competing in BSB (British Superbikes) at a level where we’re not competing at the front.

“We’ve been fortunate to win races, came second in the championship in 2018. That seems a long while ago now and I want to get back to that sort of stature.

“But with that comes with a financial responsibility.”

Before making the decision to step away from BSB, Hardy had been approached by Kawasaki about putting together a team for the big road races.

“Road racing is a love of mine. It’s my ambition to win at the North West 200 and at the Isle of Man TT,” said Hardy.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to win at the Macau GP in only our second year there. It’s a huge achievement and not many teams have done it.”

While Hardy has entered the TT previously, alongside his BSB commitments, he said he was excited to be able to focus solely on the road racing side of things.

“We’ve competed there previously – 2013 was our first year there. We’ve had some great times there. The TT is iconic – 320 corners in a sub 17 minute lap at 136.5mph (219km/h) average speed – it’s an incredible place.

“It will blow your socks off, not just the first time, but the second, third and fourth time.

“BSB is an enigma – it’s a phenomenal championship. There isn’t another championship like it in the world. The roads are a different commodity.

“We know the risks with it, there will be a hell of a lot of preparation from my side and there’s a lot that goes into putting a team together for a road racing event.

“There is a lot of pressure building up to these events and it’s something I enjoy.

“To be part of the TT and affect the riders’ result – you want to be the fastest and safest pit-crew there is.”

The team is yet to announce who will be riding for them this season but an announcement is expected in the coming weeks.