Kent motorsport fans will have their own team to cheer on in this year’s MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship.

Folkestone-based power tool retailers FFX have formed the FFX Yamaha team which will compete in the series between April and October.

Record-breaking Isle of Man TT rider Ian Hutchinson has signed with the team and is set for his first full season in the BSB.

Hutchinson, who won all five solo TT races in 2010, has been plagued by serious injury problems in recent years, although he memorably won the Macau Grand Prix last November.

FFX general manager Mark Skinner said: “It’s no secret that everyone at FFX has been waiting for the moment when the time would be right to launch our own motorcycle racing team.

“Apart from the obvious commercial benefits that MCE BSB has to offer, one of the key factors in our decision making was securing the services of legendary rider Ian Hutchinson, who will be joining us as our No.1 rider for the 2014 season.

“Hutchy’s epic comeback from serious injury to win the Macau Grand Prix at the end of last season will go down as the stuff of legend and his qualities of speed, power, tenacity and endurance are most certainly qualities that the FFX brand aspires to.”

The new BSB season starts at Brands Hatch on April 18, with FFX and Hutchinson set to line up against the likes of three-time champion Shane Byrne.

Northern Irish rider Andy Reid will represent FFX Yamaha in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship, one of the BSB’s support series.