Lee Hardy Kawasaki signs Bradley Perie | BSB 2023

British Supersport runner-up Bradley Perie will graduate to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) next season after putting pen to paper on a deal with the Lee Hardy Racing team.

The 22-year old has emerged as one of the UK’s foremost young talents after a progressive route towards the front of the British Supersport field, culminating in Perie finishing second to Jack Kennedy in 2022.

A campaign that yielded seven wins with the Appleyard Macadam Yamaha team to go with the six victories he achieved in 2021, Perie will now join Kennedy in stepping up to BSB for a rookie campaign aboard the Kawasaki ZX-10RR.

“I’m grateful and excited to be making my debut Superbike season with the renowned Lee Hardy Racing team, onboard the proven Kawasaki ZX-10RR along with the Team Green family. It’s a dream come true so I can’t wait to get the ball rolling with the first test in 2023.”

With Perie’s deal set to cover the 2023 and 2024 BSB seasons, according to Team Principal Lee Hardy, the Kendal racer will be looking to follow in the wheeltracks of fellow hot prospect and 2020 BritishSSP champion Rory Skinner in making a successful transition to ‘big bikes’.

“I’m very excited to announce our new signing Bradley and particularly keen to secure Bradley for not only 2023 but it’s also important to retain Bradley for a second season,” Hardy said.

“This opportunity will give Bradley a stable situation to learn the Kawasaki ZX-10RR Superbike without the pressure of having to try and succeed in year one.

“Bradley is a complete rookie to the Superbike championship however he has shown me great potential and certainly is a rider that has caught my eye.”

Coming off the back of a frustrating 2022 BSB campaign with experienced 2018 champion Leon Haslam that fell short of pre-season expectations, Lee Hardy Racing’s signing of Perie sees it return to a strategy of hiring fresh talent.

Indeed, having already provided a platform for its 2018 runner-up Jake Dixon to transition to the Moto2 World Championship and given Ryan Vickers his BSB shot straight out of the Superstock 600 class, Hardy is pleased to see his outfit ‘returning to its roots’.

“It is so nice to revert back to the roots of Lee Hardy Racing and give young talent an opportunity to develop and hopefully succeed within the BSB championship.”

“There are many things you need to consider as a team owner when you are looking at a new venture, one thing that definitely helped me make my decision was the opening up of the Spanish testing again.

“This is a great opportunity for Bradley to throw his leg over the 2023 Kawasaki ZX-10RR and complete many laps in a relaxed environment, it's not just about learning the bike, this will also give Bradley the chance to understand his new crew and get comfortable working with a new team.”