CHARLIE Nesbitt will be joining the VisionTrack Suzuki team run by Hawk Racing for the 2022 National Superstock season to ride their GSX-R1000.
Nesbitt won the 2021 GP2 - a sub-division of British Supersport for Moto2 bikes - championship in dominant fashion, finishing in the top two in every race he finished. Now, he is moving up to the big bikes in the Superstock class.
Hawk Racing were impressed by Nesbitt’s 1000cc debut at last year’s Mallory Park Race of the Year, where he also rode a GSX-R1000.
About the news, Nesbitt said, “I couldn’t be happier with my plans for 2022. Towards the end of last season in GP2, to be honest, I was looking at superbike and wanted to make the move, but the more I thought about it, going to superstock first is the best option for me.”
He continued, “It’s a big jump from the GP2 bike to the 1000. The GP2 bike handles so well but the Suzuki does as well, but with a load more power. Mallory last year was my first go on a superstock bike and it was a bit of an eye opener; Mallory is a physical little circuit anyway without a long straight, and it showed me I have some things to learn and will have to adapt my riding to suit the bigger bike, such as carrying less corner speed, and working on getting the bike stood up so you can use the power to drive out of corners. But I’m looking forward to it."
Finally, Nesbitt said, “I’ve had a bit of bike time already, just to get more comfortable on it before working on setup. But if we can get a good base setting I want to be running in the top 10 from the off and then pushing for podiums and wins. It won’t be easy but for every bike racer that’s the aim, I’m looking forward to it, and I’m grateful to Steve and everyone else for the opportunity.”
Hawk Racing Team Manager, Steve Hicken, said, “We’ve kept tabs on Charlie for a while, and he’s an obvious talent. We’ve always done our best to try and bring on younger riders and he is one of the brightest British youngsters in the paddock in my opinion. That’s also a view shared by Simon at VisionTrack, and it’s also something he’s very passionate about; you just have to look at the support he’s providing to young riders this year, in Britain and on the world stage. As a result it all came together quite easily. Charlie’s got limited big bike experience but he’s had some seat time on the GSX-R. We’ll get him on track a few more times before official tests start, but I think if we can get him comfortable pretty quickly then he can be a front-runner, for sure.”
