James McBride, the reigning Isle of Man TT Privateer champion, has decided to end his privateer career. McBride says that he isn’t finished with racing yet, but he won’t be running his own team anymore.
“I’ve been thinking about this for quite a while, but I made my decision whilst travelling back home from the Belfast Bike Show,” McBride said. “I have been truly really humbled and flattered by my Irish fans and sponsor support from the weekend, but after receiving my award I felt it was time to retire my own efforts.”
McBride won the inaugural TT Privateer’s Championship last year, and became a member of the exclusive 130 mph club at the Ulster Grand Prix. After a successful 2010 season, McBride has decided to retire from privateer racing. McBride said he would continue racing if a competitive package came along.
“To improve on last season’s riding I would almost certainly need a stronger budget and dedication from everyone involved, but life is getting busy right now in a number of ways and to retire my own personal efforts would free me up to cope,” McBride said. “However, it would allow room for improvement to my own riding performance with much less energy and focus spent on managing a team and more time to focus purely on my racing.
“So be it if I don’t get to race much in 2011, but I am currently enjoying riding Enduro on my 450 Yamaha regularly and I will still structure a return to Macau in November.”
