Iddon admits Jack Valentine key to Halsall Suzuki move

New Halsall Suzuki rider Christian Iddon has admitted that the involvement of legendary team boss Jack Valentine in the project was a crucial factor in tempting him home from the world scene to the 2015 MCE British Superbike grid.

“The move to BSB came quite late to be honest. It was very late in the day when I started to explore options and obviously there’s not many championships I wanted to look at. There was obviously World Superbikes, and BSB is just about one of the only national championships I wanted to look at simply because of how good it is and kudos of it.

“I’d been milling around the paddock and I’d spoken to Jack just out of courtesy initially, letting him know I was around, then he phoned up and implied how things were looking with Suzuki, which was a big game changer for me. There are lots of teams in the championship who are all good but there’s not a lot to choose between them but Suzuki’s involvement elevated the option above the rest and tone of conversation changed. I was definitely keen. And the link between Jack and Suzuki was big for me. He’s been around and knows the score.”

Valentine may prove to be an integral part of the team as they attempt to breathe new life into the old GSX-R package. The Lancashire man was a key component in the Crescent Suzuki team that took John Hopkins to an incredible second place in his rookie year in the series. He retains many contacts with both factory and tuning partners Yoshimura, and many are eagerly anticipating what the team are capable of doing.

Iddon is set to get his 2015 season underway alongside teammate Josh Waters early next month at Spain’s Cartagena track.