Milwaukee Yamaha’s James Ellison is hoping for a good start when the first MCE British Superbike race of the year gets under way at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit this afternoon. The Kendal native has already made a solid start to his BSB campaign and starts today’s race on the front row, and third on the grid.

“I was not very quick during qualifying, so to get a third and a front row start I am really happy with that, and we have got the consistency as well, so hopefully we can have a good race," said Ellison, speaking to bikesportnews.com from the circuit.

Ellison’s team mate for this year is Aussie rookie Josh Waters, and the pair have already been working closely together to ensure the Milwaukee Yamaha team are a success today.

“Me and Josh have been sharing a lot of data, so we are trying to put my good points and his good points together, and it seems to work, so it is a bit of team work really and it seems to be paying off.

“It is going to be close in the race, so that’s why it is important that we get a good start. We are third in the row so we need to make the most of it, because there are ten to fifteen lads out there who could potentially get on the podium so it is going to be a tough one.”

Ellison has been away from the MCE British Superbike paddock for a year, as he was competing in MotoGP for the PBM CRT team, but the Englishman is glad to be back. “It is good to come back and fit straight in to place and start where we kind of left off really, so I am really happy with it.”