Richard Cooper reckons that this could be the season that the underdogs come out fighting and take the scrap for the MCE Insurance British Superbike crown to the pre-event favourites.

The former winner of the National Superstock crown is back with Buildbase BMW, with whom he won that title back in 2011, and is feeling confident as the prepares for the opening round at Silverstone.

“It is difficult to call give the depth of the field – the only way to go is to be consistent,” said Cooper who finished last season in eighth place overall.  He had peaked with a pair of podiums at Brands Hatch in mid-term but then parted company with the Anvil Hire TAG team.

“Things went wrong with TAG but the guys at Buildbase were the first to make the phone call to me and it was a no brainer for me. I had other teams contact me, but Stuart Hicken’s call was the one – I said to myself this is going to lead to 2016. For me, maybe I shouldn’t have left them after winning the Superstock title with them.

“The thing with this team is that they say you are going racing at the start of the year and at the end of the year – there is no cutting of corners and you feel secure with them. The facilities they have with the workshops at Mallory Park are on a par with anyone’s.  What you lose in terms of factory support you gain from Stuart’s input and experience. He has been around so long, he knows how it all works and there is much more than bolting factory parts on to a bike.

“Getting our bikes into the Showdown is the key – I think that I have what it takes, but BSB is hard to call, there is such a mix of riders and manufacturers.  You could think of it as the year of the underdog – I like to think so. People forget that I have three BSB podiums to my name and they don’t come easily.

“I know what it is like to mix it with the front runners and now in my first full year with Buildbase BMW since winning that title in 2011 I have the chance to show my real potential,” added the confident Cooper.