Still-recovering Kent to partner Iddon at Buildbase Suzuki

Danny Kent will remain with Steve Hicken’s Buildbase Suzuki team to partner Christian Iddon for the 2022 Bennetts British Superbike season.

Kent, who is a former Moto3 World Champion, is still recovering from a leg injury sustained last season but is confident of being fit for the season opener.

“I’m really grateful to Steve and Stuart for giving me another year with the team. Obviously I missed the whole second half of last season with the injury, but we definitely saw some positives in the first half of the year, the podium at Thruxton being the standout,” said Kent.

“But, it was my first full year on a superbike and I felt I was adapting more and more and the potential was definitely there. I was gutted to miss the second half of the year, especially as I could see the development of the bike and the improvements the team were able to make that resulted in a couple of wins.

My hip is getting better. It’s not at 100% but it’s going in the right direction. A lack of strength is the biggest thing; the muscles have deteriorated and it feels weak, I can’t apply the same force, but I’m working with Loughborough University and I have seen a significant improvement.

“But it was a complicated injury – I was bed-bound for a week waiting for an operation, as they could put it back in place but it kept falling out because of the fracture – and I have to see specialists every three months for the foreseeable future.

“I’ve not ridden a bike since, though, so I’m looking forward to riding in February, hopefully, and getting some laps in on a superstock bike to get comfortable again and get up to speed. No matter what training you do nothing compares to riding a bike, so that’s going to be important.

“I’m looking forward to having