Laffins All Smiles Ahead of Bennetts British Superbike Race at Knockhill

Ahead of the next round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Dromara’s Sam Laffins was in buoyant mood as he prepared for the race weekend at the iconic Knockhill circuit in Scotland.

The 21-year-old is one of the most exciting talents rising up the rankings and Zerofit is delighted to announce the Northern Irishman is now an ambassador for the Antrim-based brand – a mere six years after he first started to race competitively.

And with temperatures soaring in the UK, Laffins will have three of Zerofit’s core baselayer products – the Cold Skin, Ice Weave and the Move - for the three day meeting in Dunfermline.

‘The products do exactly what they say they do. The more comfortable you are on the bike the better, it’s one less thing to think about it and you can focus more on the race. I know the baselayers aren’t going to let me down,’ said Sam.

‘I use the Move for everyday training in the gym – it regulates your body temperature so you never overheat, and even though you know you’re sweating because you’re working hard, you don’t get cold. I wore the Ice Weave at the last meeting at Donnington where I had a second and fourth-placed finish, so it definitely aided performance in the warmer conditions,’ he added.

The new agreement between Zerofit and Laffins marks the start of a new talent acquisition strategy from the brand, as Managing Director Michael Morton explained.

‘In 2022 we sat down as a group and thought about how we could help promising athletes in our key sports of motorcycling, golf, fishing and running and we then set about identifying a number of potential young men and women who would benefit from our product range but who would also be able to offer us some visibility in their chosen sport,’ said Morton.

‘Sam is the perfect example of what we were looking for – a class act on the track, in the paddock and away from the race environment. We are all excited to watch his journey unfold, especially as he’s such a keen advocate of products such as the Ice Weave and the Move,’ he added.

While many riders start in the sport at a much younger age, the bug only bit for Sam when watching his older sister Chloe race Mini Motos and when she opted to give that up, so an opportunity arose.

Clearly blessed with a significant talent, Sam progressed rapidly and won two races back in 2016 – the David Wood Memorial event and then a victory/lap record combination at the Sunflower Trophy at Bishopscourt in the same year.

He competed in the British Talent Cup in 2018 before a further elevation saw him race in the Pirelli National Junior Superstock 600 Championship in 2019, learning his trade and improving race-by-race. Last year he recorded two second place finishes, as well as two thirds, and also started a race from pole position.

At the start of this season, he signed for Binch Racing, who are the reigning champions, and is looking forward to building on a promising start to the current campaign that started at Silverstone in April.

‘My goal is to win the Championship and if you finish in the top three, you have to move on anyway. You are able to compete at this level until you’re 25, but I wouldn’t want to be doing that. This year will be my last at this level and then I’ll move up to the Supersport Championship,’ said Sam, who works full-time as a Yard Manager at Sloan Transport to help finance his way through the sport’s echelons.

‘It’s difficult to balance 12 hour working days with training both in the gym and on the bike, but it’s more expensive to move up in class so it has to be done. You have to do it to build, improve and become more experienced.

So, as Scottish race fans get ready to welcome the elite of British Superbikes to the AncientKingdom of Fife, what’s on the horizon for Sam?

‘Moto GP may seem a little far away but Ideally, I’d want to be racing at World Supersport level with the likes of Jonathan Rea – that’s the goal,’ he added.

Go well this weekend Sam, and good luck for the rest of the season!