Dungannon’s Adam Brown to ride for Haslam team

DUNGANNON’S Adam Brown has earned the opportunity of a lifetime with the Haslam family’s Affinity Sports Academy racing team after he was officially unveiled as one of the team’s riders at Motorcycle Live in Birmingham’s NEC Arena on Sunday.

The 17-year-old won the 2022 Mondello Masters Junior Supersport title at the first time of asking in only his second season of short circuit racing.

That form caught the eye of the famous English racing family of Ron and Leon Haslam, the former being a two-time world champion and four time British, while his son won the British Superbike Championship crown in 2018.

They invited the former Drumglass High School pupil over for a track day at Donington Park in September in order to cast a closer eye over his potential on two wheels and they were impressed enough to offer him a ride in the HEL British Junior Supersport Championship for 2023 when he will team-up with Belfast youngster, Rossi Dobson.

And while his former school-mate, Killyman’s Cameron Dawson, who initially convinced Brown to give short circuit racing a go, won the same series in 2021, Adam isn’t setting his sights that high just yet.

However, once he gets to grips with his new Kawasaki and all the mainland’s circuits, he believes he will be well placed to repeat Dawson’s efforts in 2024.

“I can’t really believe that this has happened! For boys to get rides from over here is practically unheard of,” Brown beamed.

“I had never been over to any of the English circuits before.

“The first time was when I went to Donington for the track day in September, and the thing I noticed is it’s a proper track!

“I can’t wait to get to all the famous tracks but I know what I have to do next year, I’ll have the new bike to learn but also all the circuits, so we’re aiming for top 15 in our first year and then we’ll try to go for it in the second year.”

Brown’s progress since making the step from motocross to short circuit racing has been impressive.

He has steadily improved race on race and that has given him the confidence to take the next step after a title winning campaign in 2022.

“I raced motocross and Cameron Dawson got me down the line of it and I was at school with him and he said about circuits,” Brown explained.

“So I thought I’d take a step away from the motocross because I was getting a wee bit bored with it and we’d give it a try.

“Last year was my first year at the short circuits and at the start I found it a wee bit different and I found it difficult finding lines and things like that, but I did a lot of pit biking over last winter and that brought me on a bit.

“And then this year, the difference between this and last year is unbelievable.

“I won the Junior Supersport title at Mondello, winning nine races, which was a massive confidence boost.”