James Ellison has split with the Smiths BMW team following another tricky weekend at Thruxton, round seven of the 2019 Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
After what has been a tough few seasons for Ellison, he announced that he was partnering Peter Hickman in Rebecca Smith‘s BMW team for the 2019 season.
After picking up just eighteen points from the first six rounds, Ellison was given an ‘equal’ bike to Hickman, built solely around Ellison’s needs. Despite this, the thirty-eight-year-old was still only able to come away with an eleventh place finish in race two.
Shortly after the second race at Thruxton, it was announced that James Ellison and Smiths BMW would go “their separate ways“, a statement from team co-ordinator Darren Jones said: “James was on an identical bike to Pete this weekend but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get the results neither he nor we had hoped for. As a result, we have had a chat and decided that we will go our separate ways, so would like to thank James for his efforts this season and we wish him well in the future.”
There is no announcement on who will replace Ellison on the BMW, but with Hickman returning to the podium at this weekend’s event, the Smiths BMW seat will be targeted by many riders on the grid and beyond.
