BSB: Rebecca Smith: 'This year has been a breath of fresh air'

2017 has been a meteoric year for the Smiths Racing team with success in both the MCE British Superbike Championship and on the international road racing scene.   

After Peter Hickman stormed to five podiums from five starts at the Isle of Man TT, four of which coming on Smiths machinery, the team’s success has spiralled.

At Thruxton Hickman took them to their first ever front row start before clinching their debut victory in the second race before going on to win four races at the Ulster Grand Prix.

The team’s success continued to flare at Cadwell Park this weekend as a step forward for second rider Lee Jackson saw the Gloucester-based outfit secure their first double podium.

Now sitting third in the series standings, Hickman heads in to the final four rounds with a realistic chance of fighting for Smiths’ first ever British Superbike crown.

But it hasn’t always been rosy for the Smiths team, run by the father and daughter pairing of Alan and Rebecca Smith.

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Largely funded by the family business, a tough few years did lead the duo to ponder whether they’d continue beyond 2017 but their turn in fortunes has boosted confidence and reminded them exactly why they started out.  

“There have been some very testing times for us as a team and we’ve got a very busy business to run back at home,” Rebecca Smith told MCN.

“I’ve also got a full time job so we had to establish a balance. Once you stop enjoying it when the success doesn’t come regardless of the time, effort and money you put in you do have to question why you’re still here.

“This year has been a breath of fresh air. It’s obviously not all about winning, but it certainly does help. When we’re working through the week doing something else and coming here at weekends it needs to be fun for all the right reasons. So yeah, it was maybe a consideration that we sacked it all in at one point but it seems less and less likely now!” 

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