New series challenge for Hucknall racer Richard Cooper

Hickman said: “We are super excited to be running 'Coopes' in the first Sportbike Championship.

“PHR has been working hard over the winter to develop the race bike with Coopes and Triumph and it looks absolutely fantastic.

“This is a really exciting project for us and we are all looking forward to seeing how the bike performs out on the circuit.

“There’s an array of different riders signed up to race the Daytona 660 in the series and we hope to see more on track in the future.”

Cooper, who is a two-time National Superstock champion and reigning ABK Beer 0% F 900 R Cup champion, as well as a long-standing Triumph test rider, will contest the series on an all-new bike based on the recently launched Triumph Daytona 660, which will be prepared and run by PHR Performance.

The new Championship offers an alternative pathway for racers to progress their careers with Triumph Racing, from Sportbike through Supersport to Moto2.

Cooper said: “I’m really looking forward to competing in another new championship within the BSB paddock.

“The new Sportbike Championship looks like it’s going to be a class for the future with lots of manufacturers joining, which is great for racing.

“I’m really pleased to be working with PHR Triumph again after I competed in the British Supersport Championship last year for them at Cadwell Park.

“We’ve also just done the Daytona 200 where we have built a good working environment.

“I’m really looking forward to continuing to work together and also passing my knowledge on to what is a very young, enthusiastic bunch of lads.

“We’re all super excited to get things started on the May Bank Holiday weekend at Oulton Park.

“I was one of the first people to ride the new Daytona 660 and I knew straight away that it’s going to be a very competitive package in the class and one that we can fight for the championship with, which is our main goal for the year.”

Triumph Motorcycles chief product officer Steve Sargent added: “We’re really happy to have Richard riding the new Daytona 660 Sportbike which has been race prepared by PHR performance. “Richard brings his vast experience and proven talent to the team and he is also familiar with the 660cc triple engine from his role as a Triumph test rider.

“He and the PHR Performance team know what it takes to win and are hungry for success so we are excited to see what they can do in this brand new Championship.”