Reigning Bennetts British Superbike Champion Tarran Mackenzie will make his long-awaited WorldSBK debut in the fifth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship at Donington between 15-17 July.

Mackenzie, who stormed to emphatic success with the Yamaha R1 in the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship with ten victories and 19 podium finishes, will race a World Superbike specification R1 for his McAMS Yamaha team as they make a one-off appearance on the world stage at their home event.

While the 26-year-old will have to quickly familiarise himself with the WorldSBK specification engine and Magneti Marelli electronics, the chassis of his BSB R1 is almost identical to that of the official WorldSBK teams and naturally, both Mackenzie and McAMS Yamaha have extensive experience of the Donington Park Grand Prix layout. The Leicestershire track is just ten minutes up the road from Mackenzie’s Ashby de la Zouche home and was the scene of one of his most commanding victories in the 2021 Showdown, which saw him carve through the pack to take the win.

Mackenzie was scheduled to make his WorldSBK debut in April at Assen, but a crash in pre-season testing saw him ruled out with a broken ankle, from which he has now fully recovered. He made his return to the British Championship in May and has been working his way up the order as he returns to full fitness.

The wildcard will be the first venture onto the world stage for McAMS Yamaha in its present iteration, but the team behind the successful BSB outfit, Raceways Motorcycles, made several wildcard appearances in the World Supersport championship in the 2000/2010s.

Tarran Mackenzie
“I am very excited to finally make my debut in the Superbike World Championship at Donington. It feels like it’s been a long time coming and I was obviously disappointed when we couldn’t do Assen. Donington is a special track for me as it’s only 10 minutes down the road from home, I’ve had some great success there in BSB so I am looking forward to getting out on a World Superbike-spec R1 and seeing what both myself and the McAMS Yamaha team can achieve. Obviously there is a lot to learn with the engine and electronics, but I know the chassis well as my BSB bike is very similar. The level in World Championship is really high and I’m looking forward to getting out on track and giving it our all. I have to say a huge thanks to Steve and the McAMS Yamaha team, as well as Andrea and everyone at Yamaha Racing for making this possible.”

Andrea Dosoli
Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Manager
“We are looking forward to supporting Tarran and the McAMS Yamaha Team as they make their WorldSBK debut with a wildcard appearance at Donington, after what was an incredibly successful 2021 season for them in the British Superbike Championship. We have enjoyed a long and fruitful working relationship with the McAMS team and their two riders, with a real two-way collaboration bringing benefits for all. We are delighted to see Tarran and McAMS step up onto the world stage in Donington, as this fits perfectly with Yamaha’s racing philosophy of offering opportunities to the best riders and teams worldwide.”

Steve Rodgers
Team Principal
“We are looking forward to taking the McAMS Yamaha team to the world stage in our first Superbike wildcard appearance at Donington next month. Raceways have supported Tarran since his very early days of racing and we’ve seen him rise through the ranks, to the point where he won us the British Superbike Championship in 2021. His dream is to continue his progression, so we are delighted to be able to give him the opportunity to make his World Superbike debut as a reward for winning the championship last year.

“Obviously the plan was to do Assen before Donington, but unfortunately Tarran was injured and couldn’t ride so we are very much jumping in at the deep end this weekend, but our bikes are already very close to world championship specification. The engine and electronics will be different and the whole team will have to work hard to get used to those in a short space of time, but we have some very talented people on board including people who have recently worked in World Superbikes. There is no pressure or expectation from our side, we’ll just go and see what we can do!”