British BOOST!
In 1994 the Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board took control of the British Championship from the Auto Cycle Union – or ACU – and in October 1995 the MCRCB revealed their big plans for the series for the following year...
Simplicity was the key: no more duplicitous variations of a championship on telly (or not) but instead a one-size-fits-all ‘British Superbike Championship’ which would be televised on the BBC no less. With £20,000 in the pocket of Barrie Hinchcliffe Productions for a promo video (they did the-then very successful British Touring Car series) the Beeb were won over and decided to give each round a 25-minute package, slotted in at peak viewing times on BBC’s Grandstand sporting programme.
Decent prize money also came into it, as did big names from the bike race world – soon to be seen on terrestrial telly. 1996 would prove to be a pivotal year: one that would see the two main protagonists, Niall Mackenzie (Scottish returning Grand Prix star, aged 35) and James Whitham (Huddersfield’s finest, just back from battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, 29) take the title to the very final round, when they arrived equal on points…
Adding to the drama was that Whit had been 2nd overall in 1995 to Steve Hislop, when he fell sick and wanted to prove himself once more. Meanwhile Mackenzie wanted a swansong year back home in front of his fans after a couple of unsatisfying seasons as a 500cc and 250cc privateer…
Controlling all this was Rob McElnea, former British champ and friend to both riders. He and Yamaha UK had secured the 1995 factory World Superbike Yamahas (worth £60,000 apiece)
