WorldSBK – Tarran Mackenzie
Tarran Mackenzie is a British rider who has already carved out an impressive career path, boasting achievements that include the 2016 British Supersport 600 title and the 2021 British Superbike title. In 2022, Tarran secured a seventh-place finish in the BSB series. He then received an offer to compete in the 2023 Supersport World Championship with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team. Despite it being his debut season, the Brit scored an historic first win for the team at the Czech round. That same year, Mackenzie also achieved an historic podium finish in the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours. 2024 sees Mackenzie in action in the Superbike World Championship, where he once again shares the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team garage with Adam Norrodin.
Background
Born on 29 October 1995 in Leicestershire, England, Tarran began racing minibikes in 2006. In subsequent years he moved up to 125cc machinery and competed in various series such as the Aprilia Superteens, British Motostar and the Red Bull Rookies Cup. In 2014, the Brit returned to his homeland to compete in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship. A strong performance in 2015 saw him make his British Supersport debut the following season. And what a debut it was, with the young rookie snatching the title at his first attempt, after amassing five race wins and ten additional podium finishes. This result meant that he was given the opportunity to compete in the Moto2 world championship in 2017, where he faced very stiff competition. In 2018 he returned to the national series, where he would remain for the next five years. After finishing fifth overall in both 2019 and 2020, a standout 2021 season, in which he won a total of ten races, secured Tarran the British Superbike title. He then finished seventh in BSB in 2022, after which he was approached by the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team, with which he competed in the 2023 Supersport World Championship. The undisputed highlight of his rookie WorldSSP season was undoubtedly the stunning race win he achieved in a complex Race 2 at Most, a fantastic result that went a long way to repaying the hard work and commitment the rider showed all season. No less impressive was his performance in the Suzuka 8 Hours in August of the same year. Together with team-mates Mike di Meglio and Alan Techer, the 28-year-old powered the Honda all the way to the podium, completing the challenging endurance race in third position. Having admirably represented the team in the Supersport class during the 2023 season, Mackenzie moves up to represent the same squad in the WorldSBK category in 2024.
