Tommy Hill is embarking on a new career next season as manager of the newly launched BeWiser Kawasaki British Superbike team.

The 2011 champion is clearly not daunted by the challenge of bringing a new team to a highly competitive grid in 2015.

With the signings of the experienced Chris Walker and the exciting talent of Danny Buchan, who won the National Superstock series in 2014 it underlines the team’s intent to compete at the sharp end every race weekend.

Speaking about the development of the team and the work that he has put in so far, Tommy said: “At the start I felt like I needed a break from the sport, there were a lot of things happening that took the enjoyment away.

“I tried to introduce a management firm into what I was doing. Unfortunately it got a lot of people’s back up. There are a lot of riders out there with managers that lets them concentrate on just the racing. I got to the point where I had lost that enjoyment and wanted a break.

“Before I knew it I was in my second year and I wanted to try something different and start a new chapter by managing a race team rather than racing in a team.

“I fancied doing something different, I have a few old partners that have been loyal and involved and I felt like I have always kept them happy and promised them everything and have given that back to them. They were keen to come on board and liked the idea of me running this team.

“It is a completely different position than I am used to and it is a lot less risky on the health side but there is a lot more stress to deal with.”

Tommy has been working hard day and night since taking up the role of team manager to ensure that the team is ready to compete at the highest level in April when the season gets underway at Donington Park.

He added: “To start a new team is hard work, Alan Greig who is my business partner has run a National Superstock team for the last four seasons and he was the one who introduced me to BeWiser insurance.

“We sat down and went over a few bits and pieces and I explained to him that if we were going to do this we needed to do it 100%. I wasn’t interested in doing something whereby we are at the back of the grid and a low profile team. If we want to do it then we had to do it right, I have tried to set a precedent from the start, the team looks good and is the best that it can be, with the budget that we have.

“If we had an endless budget we would probably still spend it, there are a lot of teams out there that have a good budget. When it is tight it is a lot more difficult to start a team, for us setting up from scratch and having nothing it has been a lot of hard work.

“It has been six months so far in the making that is every day, getting the team personnel set-up, making sure riders are happy and getting the bikes built and ordering all the parts for the bikes. All the infrastructure and hospitality including the building of the hospitality unit, plus all the garages and toolkits. There is a lot that goes into it that a lot of people unfortunately don’t get to see, they just see the glossy side of most sports.

“It is interesting from my point of view to see what else goes on and I have a little bit more respect now for a lot of the team managers and what they have had to do.”

It has been six months of hard work for Tommy but his rewards will come during the season when the team are hopefully challenging for podiums and wins.

“A lot of people will be saying aren’t you chomping at the bit to get back out there and race the bike that we have built. To be fair I would probably have a little bit of that at the start but I have worked with some young riders this season and I get as much buzz for them standing on the podium as I did.

“As long as I know that I am part of that and making the team as professional, more so than a lot of the top teams. I have taken all the bad stuff from the teams that I have raced for and make that better. As long as we have some results over the race weekend it will make all the effort that we have put in, that if a rider is standing on the top of the podium it is worth it.”

In their debut season the team have gone for the blend of youth and experience with the veteran Chris Walker and BSB debutant Danny Buchan, a line-up that Tommy thinks will work well.

He said: “I have always wanted to bring on a young rider in the team, I was also keen to bring on two young riders. With Danny (Buchan) he is young and very fit, he trains all the time. He has a management team of the track that means that he can concentrate on the job in hand.

“He is a young and upcoming racer that deserves a superbike ride, there is no reason why he shouldn’t have been offered a BSB ride. I know that he was talking to a few teams and decided to sign with me, it gives me a bit of confidence as well, and we have two riders wanting to be a part of this team because I am involved.

“Danny is hungry and wants to make a name for himself and it is down to me to manage the way that he approaches it. We know that he is capable but it might just be a case of time of slowing Danny down to make sure he gets consistent results, and gets used to how the bike and the team are working and towards the end of the season start to push that little bit harder. If he has a few offs that is okay, it is part of the game and part of sport.

“We have Chris on the other side of the garage who is double the age of Danny but brings a lot of experience to the team, he has ridden the ZX-10R and had a good relationship with Kawasaki. It is good to have someone on the team with a lot of knowledge as well. It is not to say that Chris’ set-up will work for Danny and vice versa. Chris has got a lot of knowledge of what has worked and what hasn’t worked.

“There is also my experience and we have a crew chief in Matt Llewellyn that has a lot of experience in racing in the BSB at the sharp end. There is a lot of experience in the team and I need to manage that as well, you can find with a lot of teams if you have a lot of opinions. I want to try and keep it simple especially for Danny, so he can concentrate on riding the bike. As a close knit small team we are looking to get the best out of the package, I am sure I can do it and that everyone will support me in achieving it.”

This afternoon you can read more from Tommy as he tells us about preparations to go testing and the start of the season, and also about one of the team’s news sponsors who are based here in Kent.