Burrows team back to their roots and gearing up for full scale season

Dungannon’s Burrows Racing/RK Racing team will go back to their roots in 2022 in a full-scale return to the Irish national road races with promising Cork rider Mike Browne spearheading the challenge.

Browne will be the team’s sole representative between the hedges next season, when he is also set to make his debut at the North West 200 prior to the Isle of Man TT.

Road racing has been particularly hard-hit by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic over the past 18 months, with only three Irish national meetings taking place during that time, while the headline events such as the North West and TT suffered back-to-back cancellations.

However, a full calendar is in place for next year, including a return to racing in the Republic of Ireland for the first time since 2019, and the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing Team will provide Browne – a Superbike winner at the Cookstown 100 in September – with top-class Yamaha YZF-R6 and Suzuki GSX-R1000 machinery, in addition to a Moto3 250 Honda.

Team owner John Burrows’ 11-year-old son Jack will also be a prominent member of the team in 2022 as he makes the step up to the Ulster short circuits on a Moto3 after cutting his teeth on two wheels this year in the Irish Minibike Championship. Jack will continue to race in the thriving IMC series next year as he builds his racing knowledge and experience, with the ultimate aim of joining the prestigious British Talent Cup grid in 2024 – a move put on hold for the next two years following the introduction of a new minimum age rule.

Team principal – John Burrow said: “Next year the plan is to concentrate solely on Mike Browne at the Irish national road races plus the three major events: the North West 200, Isle of Man TT and Ulster Grand Prix, if it returns. As a roads team, national road racing is very close to my heart and that’s where I want to be in 2022 with Mike. We’re focused on making sure Mike has the best opportunity possible going to each and every race: he’s happy within the team and we are happy with him, so it’s a productive environment and we’re all looking forward to next year.”

He added: “We’re going into 2022 with strong foundation for Mike and I fully believe in his ability to do a good job. I don’t have any expectations or goals set out for him, but I do believe he will achieve good things for us at the national and major road races.