SMT Racing are to return to the National Superstock 1000cc Championship in 2014 with Swedish rider Filip Backlund and are aiming to go one better than last season when they finished runners up with Adam Jenkinson.

Jenkinson led the series for much of the year before having to settle for second behind eventual champion Hudson Kennaugh after a thrilling final round but three wins and six podiums showed the title winning pedigree of Robin Croft’s team, something which Backlund is keen to exploit.

The 23-year old was himself a revelation in his first full season of British Championship competition, a year that saw him finish one place behind Jenkinson in the final standings in third overall. The undoubted highlight was a dominant win at Silverstone, where he took victory by an almost unheard of nine seconds, and with further rostrums at Brands Hatch and Donington Park, the Swede was without doubt one of the finds of the year.

Backlund’s talent was also seen on the World stage when he took a strong tenth in the European Superstock 1000cc Championship race at Silverstone, just seven seconds off the race win.

“It feels really good to have joined SMT Racing as I know they’re one of the strongest teams in the paddock. Although we were rivals last year, I always liked the way they worked and spoke regularly with them so I got to know Robin, Alec and the whole team really well," said Backlund.

"We have a very strong package in place and I’m confident we’ll be challenging for the title for the whole of the season so if we do our job right, I’m sure that will happen.”

“I really enjoyed 2013 and racing in the UK feels very natural to me, it’s just like being in Sweden. Everyone knows how strong the British Championship is as it has top riders and top teams and if you’re not racing in a World Championship, the UK is the place to be.

I’m excited to be here with SMT Racing and we both have the firm goal of winning the Superstock title in 2014 and then moving up to the Superbike class in 2015.”