David Allingham says "main goal in 2025 is winning British title" after encouraging first season with own team in National Superstock 1000 Championship

Allingham took fifth place overall on his SMS/Nicholl Oils-backed BMW and twice finished in second place.

The Eglinton man, a former British Supersport race winner, had former team-mate Ross Twyman as his crew chief and felt they exceeded their own expectations after a solid campaign in the production-based class.

His team has been nominated for the Team of the Year accolade at the Irish Motorbike Awards in Belfast on Friday, where Allingham is among the special guests.

The 30-year-old is confident he can mount a charge for title honours in 2025 with the benefit of a season under his belt with the team.

“Last year was a good building year for the team and it got everybody in the flow of things, and by the end of the year we were challenging for podiums and race wins – especially at Oulton Park with the lap times we were doing, we were really challenging for it,” Allingham said.

“I think that’s what has given me the confidence now going into this year, knowing that I can be up there and I can beat these boys.

“So my main goal now in 2025 is to become the British champion and if that wasn’t my goal, I wouldn’t swing my leg over the bike.

“Last year I didn’t have a goal because I didn’t know how this would turn out, whether we would be competitive or not, but I think to come away with a top five in the championship, myself and everyone in the whole team has got way more confidence.

“We learnt so much with the bike changes and the mistakes last year and because it was our first year doing it,” he added.

“Ross had never been a mechanic and I had to do a lot of crew chief stuff on my own and it was stuff that we’d never had to do before, so we definitely learned from our mistakes and going into this year I think we can do a way better job.

“Now that I’m not with my own father’s team [EHA Racing] I feel like I have a point to prove, that I can achieve good results on my own.

“I feel that I need to prove that to myself and that I can achieve that on my own, so it was nice to come back last year in the British championship and get fifth place.”

Allingham is one of a raft of riders from Northern Ireland who have made their mark in British championship racing but feels they sometimes don’t get the recognition they deserve.

“It’s nice to see the young boys coming up now and getting opportunities to go into Superbikes and it shows how talented the boys from Northern Ireland are,” he said.

“I do think that we don’t get enough credit because we don’t get the same amount of bike time as those boys in England and they have a head-start on you, so it’s nice to see the likes of Scott Swann doing well and young Jamie Lyons had a decent year coming into the Superstock class, which is a hard class, but he showed a bit of talent last year.”

Allingham’s results last year also included a runner-up finish in the main Sunflower Trophy race behind BSB rider Charlie Nesbitt at Bishopscourt in Co Down.