MWR Kawasaki confirms that 16-year-old Harry Hartley will compete in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship aboard a Kawasaki ZX-6R.

The Burnley rider, who only just turned 16 on 11th March, will be the youngest rider in the aspiring series which is aimed at producing future champions, and sees him progress from the British Motostar Championship where he has been competing for the past couple of seasons.

Hartley will join South African team-mate James Egan who was announced earlier in the year aboard a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship.

Both riders took part in the recent BSB tests and at Brands Hatch, both Hartley and Egan were very impressive. Hartley, who had never ridden a four-stroke previously, overcame an early crash to post some good lap times to end up sixth fastest and not too far adrift of some top British Supersport Championship riders and fastest of the Superstock 600 runners. Egan, meanwhile, who hails from the KwaZulu-Natal province, was soon up to speed and lapping faster than a number of the Superbike regulars in the tricky conditions to post an amazing second place overall and fastest of the Superstock 1000 machines.

Sadly, due to the poor weather and freezing conditions, like many other teams, the MWR Kawasaki team was unable to get any further testing done at Snetterton but are confident going into the opening rounds of the respective championships at Brands Hatch in two weeks time.

James Egan:  "Although it was wet at Brands Hatch, I was very happy with my times and I only lost top spot when Josh Waters on his Superbike beat me with his very last lap. I didn't expect to be on the pace so soon as this is all new to me and it's very early days ahead of a long season. This is probably the most competitive championship in the world so trophies will be hard to win but I have a team around me who are prepared to give it 100% like myself. We are not here to make up the numbers but at the same time, we are not under-estimating the challenge ahead."

Harry Hartley:  "I'm very pleased to be joining MWR Kawasaki and looking forward to the season ahead. The test at Brands Hatch was good as I got used to the engine characteristics of a four-stroke as it's totally different to the 125 I've ridden previously. The conditions weren't ideal to ride the bike for the first time but we made solid progress and got some good data, I think it's the best bike to have and the team are brilliant too so I couldn't ask for more. Thanks to Mark Hodgson also who has kindly offered to oversee things for me which will be a massive help too."

Mark Webster, Team Owner:  "We are delighted to welcome Harry into the team and alongside James, we are confident that we have two of the best young riders in the paddock. With Harry not turning 16 until last week, we couldn't confirm everything but are really looking forward to the season. The fact that he'd never ridden a four-stroke was testament to his ability and as soon as he got the requisite crash out of the way, he turned a lot of heads with his speed at Brands Hatch. James was really strong also and showed why he is going to be a major contender in this year's Superstock 1000 Championship so to end up P1 in both classes was very encouraging. I'd like to thank Mark Hodgson from RCD Motorsport for his help with bringing Harry to the team; we last worked together in 1997 when Darren Barton won the British 125cc Championship for us so hope that's a good omen!"

The opening round of the Pirelli National Superstock 600 and 1000 Championships take place at Brands Hatch in Kent over the weekend of 5/7 April. For further information, please visit www.mwrkawasaki.co.uk or www.britishsuperbike.com.