PAUL BIRD has sensationally quit the British paddock to tackle the World Superbike Championship in 2008. The Penrith poultry magnate last week revealed his ambitious plans, after months of speculation from fans. And although there has been no announcement on who will ride for the team, or even if it will feature two riders or just one, rumours last night were still linking 2005 British Superbike champ, Spaniard Gregorio Lavilla to the squad. The revelation came about following the news that both of the team’s 07 riders – Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne and Tom ‘Grinner’ Sykes had signed to different squads. Shakey is off to GSE Racing while young gun Sykes has signed with Rizla Suzuki, in moves that apparently left Birdy (above) fuming. Last week he was even quoted as saying he was so angry with the way both riders had treated him and his team, that he deliberately went to Worlds just to have the last laugh over them. But he has played down any suggestions of making the move simply out of spite, claiming he has always fancied the challenge of the word stage. “I’ve always said that at some point in time, I’d like to do the World Championship and in the situation we have found ourselves in, now is the ideal opportunity,” Birdy revealed. “I have a duty to my team to provide them with the very best riders to work with and it is just what we need. “We have all felt like a pair of discarded Y Fronts over the past few days and weeks, but it just goes to prove that a team like mine can bounce back and we are all very excited by the prospect. “I’m sad to be leaving BSB as we’ve had some great times there and I wish Tom and Shakey all the best on their season with their respective teams in the UK.” Further details of the team are likely to emerge over the coming weeks, but it is known that the team has already secured sponsorship from both Stobart and Vent Axia among others. And with the team sticking with Honda machines, it will be supported by HRC. LOVE him or loathe him, Birdy has always been a man who has sparked fierce reactions from racing fans. However many – myself included – see him as a breath of fresh air in the world of faceless corporations, as a guy who has always been willing to throw his own hard-earned cash into our sport. His outfit lifted the BSB title two years in succession in 2002 and 2003 with the late Steve Hislop and then Shakey, and it’s clear the man is passionate about his motorsport, having himself competed on both two wheels and four. As a former Motocross champ, his greatest moment on four wheels was taking the 2005 MSA National Gravel Rally title. Fingers crossed Birdy and the rest of the Cumbria-based team can do a fantastic job at world level. | 
