Westmoreland denies replacement rumours

JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider James Westmoreland has spoken out about the rumours circulating the MCE British Superbike paddock last weekend at Snetterton that the team were considering replacing the Yorkshireman after a poor start to the season.

“I’d love to know where rumours like this come from, because the team are 100% behind me – and you’ve got to remember that two years ago I was in the top five in the championships, scoring pole positions and fastest laps. You don’t just forget how to ride a bike.”

The former Showdown contender has struggled to find his previous pace on the Kawasaki ZX-10R, taking only two finishes of eleventh and thirteenth out of the season’s eight races so far – but says that after mechanical problems at Snetterton, he’s looking forward to putting them behind him.

“I’m not going to lie; it hasn’t been an easy transition to the Kawasaki, but on Saturday we made a step, we were strong in warm-up, and we had two technical problems in the races. That’s one of those things.

“Once we get on top of our problems, we’ll be able to show what we can do. I’m disappointed with the weekend’s results, but I’m looking forward to Knockhill and we’ll come back stronger there.”