BSB Donington: TAG Racing Honda and Dan Linfoot part company

TAG Racing Honda and Dan Linfoot have announced that they have parted company by mutual consent for the remainder of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship.

Linfoot currently finds himself 16th in the standings with 69 points and missed Sunday’s races at Oulton Park last weekend after a huge crash, triggered by an engine issue which led to Linfoot crashing on his own oil, during the warm-up session. Linfoot’s best result of the year was eighth in race three at Snetterton.

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It’s been a tough couple of seasons for both team and rider, who came into 2021 with a sense of optimism after switching from Yamaha to Honda. The team withdrew from the Superbike class midway through 2020 due to unsolvable chatter issues, with Linfoot ending the year in the Superstock class with Bathams Racing BMW.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow to end the season in this way, but it was clear to both me and the team that we were finding it tough,” Linfoot said. “I’m disappointed but I respect their decision and they respect mine, something I can’t fault them for. I’ve loved my time with TAG Racing, even when things were tough in 2020 they stuck by me, continued to support me even when I wasn’t riding for them and I will always have respect for Rob, Tracy and Gary for that, there aren’t many people that would do that for a rider, but we both feel it’s now time to move on.

“I want to thank the rest of the team for their non-stop support and hard work, my loyal sponsors and supporters for sticking by me when things have been challenging, it really does mean the world to me.”

Linfoot first joined TAG Racing in 2019 after spending the four previous seasons with Honda Racing UK. During his time with Honda, Linfoot secured his first BSB victories at Silverstone and Oulton Park in 2017. He also finished inside the Showdown in 2015.

Unfortunately, Linfoot was unable to find similar success with TAG Racing, who finished second overall in 2017 with Josh Brookes. Linfoot’s best result with the team was second around the Brands Hatch GP circuit in 2019.

“This hasn’t been an easy decision for both us and Dan, but after what has been a tough season this year, we have agreed to harmoniously part ways,” team manager Gary Winfield added. “Dan has been a part of our family for almost three seasons now, we’ve had some ups and downs and we’ve stuck together through thick and thin, but we have now reached what feels like the end of the road, which Dan himself has agreed with.”

Tag Racing will now focus solely on Shaun Winfield in the remaining races of the 2021 Pirelli National Superstock Championship.