Leon Haslam will make a shock return to the MCE British Superbike Championship in 2016 after signing a deal to partner James Ellison and Peter Hickman.

Haslam last raced domestically in 2008 before he went to World Superbikes full time but the gritty Derbyshire rider has decided to come back to BSB as he wants to race on competitive machinery that has a chance of winning - an option that wasn’t available to him in WSBK next year.

“Coming back to BSB is an intriguing prospect and something we have looked at for the last three or four years. There has always been a lot of interest from teams here and I like where the championship is at. I wanted to stay in world championship racing if I could get on something competitive and as it has turned out, all those options I had would have struggled to be top five,” Haslam exclusively told BSN in the offices of JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Lincolnshire workshop last Friday.

“Returning to BSB to challenge for a title is a lot more appealing. Mark talked to me maybe three years ago, outlining his aspirations, what he wanted to achieve - his five-year plan, let’s say. I was impressed then and more so now with how he had gone about achieving those goals. Every year he approached me but this year he didn’t. So I called him and said that now Aprilia had decided not to participate in WSBK I might be available.”

The Smalley rider was in talks with various WSBK satellite teams for 2016 and also had an option to become a MotoGP test rider for Aprilia but he says that racing at the sharp end is where his heart is and that’s why he is coming back.

“The aim is to win. To win as many races as possible and have fun doing it. I know there is a lot of pressure on me coming back, there will be the usual criticisms but for me, racing is about winning with a good team behind you and those are the two reasons I am returning to British Superbikes…”

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