Kyle Ryde will race for Honda Racing UK in the 2027 British Superbike Championship, with the team expanding its entry to three motorcycles. The deal brings the reigning champion into Honda’s factory operation and makes the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade Ryde’s third different motorcycle in three seasons.

Ryde ended the 2026 campaign as a three-time BSB champion after securing the title at Brands Hatch. All three championships came with Nitrous Competitions, previously known as OMG Racing. Yamaha machinery carried him to the first two, while he won the latest with Ducati. Switching manufacturers is therefore familiar territory for the Nottingham rider; joining a factory team and helping develop a motorcycle from its first racing season are the genuinely new parts of this move.

Honda has not won the BSB title since 2013, but its 2026 campaign provided a useful platform: Ryan Vickers took five victories during the season. Ryde said Vickers moved close to his points tally late in the year and that the team had learned how to unlock more of the bike’s potential. He also expects Honda to have an advantage at some circuits on the 2027 calendar, and is looking forward to working with Vickers again.

Dean Harrison returns to the Superbike class

Dean Harrison will complete Honda’s three-bike line-up, returning to the BSB Superbike class for the first time since 2024. He has raced in Supersport since the middle of that year and is now entering his fourth season with Honda Racing UK. Harrison scored his first British Championship podium at Donington in the Supersport class during 2026, while his most prominent performances came at the Isle of Man TT, including the much-shortened Senior race.

His return comes as Honda introduces a new Fireblade for 2027. Harrison has called the ride a “chance of a lifetime”, while acknowledging that stepping back onto the larger motorcycle will be demanding. The short-circuit pace he developed on the CBR600RR and the lessons learned while racing alongside Jack Kennedy should help him make that transition. His stated aim is to commit fully to the championship and help make the new motorcycle work as effectively as possible.

Honda’s 2027 line-up therefore combines a champion with recent Yamaha and Ducati experience, a rider who won five times in 2026, and Harrison’s knowledge of both circuit and road racing. The new Fireblade’s BSB development has significance beyond the championship campaign: Harrison says the work will also contribute to Honda’s preparations for road racing. That gives the programme a wider engineering purpose while the team pursues its first BSB title since 2013.