Furber hungry for race action after Covid and injury-plagued 2020

Having established himself as a quality Isle of Man TT rider, the Bishop's Castle Bullet had been making steady progress year-on-year, going quicker and quicker each time.

Furber had also taken on two more International road races, the North West 200 and Ulster GP, both in Northern Ireland.

The 35-year-old has also become a regular face at the Southern 100, raced at the the Billown circuit in Castletown, on the Isle of Man, and also at Oliver's Mount, England's only road race.

And it was racing at Oliver's Mount, in the Gold Cup, that marked Furber's first and last race meeting for 2020, due to Covid-19 and also his injury.

He managed to battle through the pain to finish in the top 10 in all races, which included a fifth in Supersport B-race and an eighth in Classic Superbike race.

Looking ahead to 2021, the TT has already been cancelled but Furber and the rest of the road racing fraternity are still holding out hope that some action could still take place this year.

But in the meantime he will be busy working on his new machines and also getting in as much track time as possible, so will be ready to go whenever the flag finally drops again on the roads.

"Well, it's a bit all doom and gloom at the moment with uncertainty ahead," said Furber.

"Obviously, the TT being cancelled again is a huge disappointment and I'm missing it already.

"I'm still hopeful we will get some road racing this year at Scarborough's Oliver's Mount and some meetings in Ireland, hopefully the North West 200 and some Irish nationals.

"The ever-changing pandemic situation means nothing is certain yet.

"The plan for me is as much bike time as possible, so I'm looking forward to getting on the short circuits soon."

One silver lining for Furber is the fact he has a plethora of bikes to choose from, once he is allowed back out in the roads and circuits.

They include Kawasaki ZX6R, from Clem Davies Racing, BMW S1000RR, from DC Auto Repairs in Newtown, and his own Suzuki GSXR 750 classic superbike.

"DC Autos are also building a brand new supertwin based on a Yamaha MT07," said Furber.

"This is a very interesting project, which we will be developing throughout the year with the help of Gary Gittins, of Braddan Performance

"I wanted to do some winter testing in Spain this year but it's looking unlikely now due to Covid 19, so it's a waiting game and hope we are allowed out to play soon."

What ever happens, Furber will be hoping for a better start this year's racing, as 2020 – Covid aside – started badly for the south Shropshire rider.

"Just as some restrictions were easing in 2020 and racing started again I crashed at Oulton Park and smashed the bones in my right hand while out testing our new BMW 1000," he said.

"That put an end to any hope of achieving results last year.

"This year I'm keen to get out on the new BMW, owned by DC Autos Newtown. It's more powerful than my last bike, with more than over 200bhp.

"It's also lighter and has all right ingredients to help me win.

"Ultimately, I want to be racing it around the TT but that will have to wait until next year.

"The Kawasaki 600, owned by Clem Davies, is also a brand new bike with a supersport engine from Braddan Performance. It's the best 600 I've ever ridden and it's ready for action.

"The supertwin class rules have changed to allow 700cc twin cylinder machines, up from 650cc, so DC Autos have a brand new Yamaha MT07 being tuned and modified into a race bike by Braddan Performance.

"It's a huge project with ongoing development and definitely one of a kind. It's a great class and with the right bike I know I can achieve great results."