BSB: Luke Stapleford joins DAO Racing Kawasaki for Cadwell Park

Luke Stapleford will stand-in for Dean Harrison at DAO Racing next weekend as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship heads to Cadwell Park.

Harrison, who will be leaving the team at the end of 2023, will be absent as he’s competing at the Manx Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Stapleford joins the BSB grid for the second time this season having previously raced for LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha as a replacement for Ryan Vickers as Oulton Park.

Stapleford is currently competing in the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship. The 2015 champion is third overall after the opening seven rounds, taking two wins and eight podiums so far. He’s 42 points behind series leader, Ben Currie.

“I’m really excited for Cadwell Park after getting a little run out recently on the bike,” Stapleford said. “It gave me a chance to familiarise myself with a few bits so we can start as comfortable as possible on the race weekend.

“It’ll be a challenge with the level that BSB is currently at, but I’m under no pressure from the team and hopefully we can build over the weekend and get some positive results. I’d like to thank the team for thinking of me and giving me the opportunity to stand in. I’m really looking forward to meeting and working with the whole team next weekend.”

Alongside his exploits in the Supersport class, Stapleford also raced briefly in the Superstock category in 2021 as a replacement for Tim Neave at Buildbase Suzuki. Stapleford rode for the same team in the Superbike class in 2019, securing a best result of fourth at Assen.

“It’s an exciting time for the team,” Team Manager Jonny Bagnall said. “Luke’s ridden a few Superbikes in his time and has already jumped on one this year, so it’s going to be good to see where the bike is in accordance with what other people are doing. It’s going to be good to get some feedback from him.

“He has had a good showing in the past on both Superstock and Superbikes, so he knows what he is doing on a big bike. With the small test we ran with him, we had lots of positive feedback, which is good to hear. So, we’re looking forward to getting him on it. Cadwell Park is a good opportunity from both sides, so we’re really looking forward to it.”

Cadwell Park sees the return of the Omologato Superpole qualifying format, which gives the top 15 riders just one lap to get it right and produce a fast lap-time.

As is traditional with the Cadwell Park meeting, qualifying and race one will take place on Sunday August 27, with races two and three taking place on Bank Holiday Monday (August 28).