MCE British Superbike boss Stuart Higgs is taking positives from the news that Honda will not be competing in the series next season, saying that a 2015 return with a full and strong team would be better for the championship.

The Louth-based team cited a re-structuring and re-focus after losing both title sponsor Samsung and reigning champion Alex Lowes to the Voltcom Suzuki World Superbike squad. Comparisons have been drawn between this and the disppearance of GSE Racing in 2009, however, that was essentially a team leaving the building instead of a manufacturer re-structuring its approach.

"We have to be pragmatic about the situation really. Obviously, a lot of people will be grumpy about it and will say it's the beginning of the end, but that happened in 2009 when GSE left and no-one followed them out of the door," said Higgs, speaking to bikesportnews.com this morning.

"I think it will be better for Honda and for us if they can spend 2014 developing the bike, doing some wildcards over the year and coming back with a strong package in 2015 and challenging for the title then as opposed to rolling around in the middle order this year.

"The series has shown that it has enough strength in depth that privateer teams can get on to the podium and that will continue into next season. It is likely that we will see more of the smaller teams achieving higher levels of success in 2014."