Dromara's Sam Laffins was in an upbeat mood as he prepared for the next round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Scotland's Knockhill Circuit.

The 21-year-old is a most incredible talent and we are delighted that he has become an ambassador for the Antrim-based brand just six years after starting his racing career.
Laffins will be wearing ZeroFit base layers Coldskin , Iceweave and Heatlove Move for the three-day event in Dunfermline.

"The products do exactly what they say they do. The more comfortable I am during a race, the less I have to think about so I can concentrate on the race, and ZEROFIT base layers have never let me down," says Sam.

"I wear Heat Rub Move every day in the gym and it helps regulate my body temperature so I don't get too hot and even if I sweat, I don't get cold. I finished second and fourth at the last Donington race wearing Ice Weave , so I'm sure it helped me perform better while staying warm, " he added.

ZEROFIT's new deal with Laffins marks the start of a new talent acquisition strategy for the brand, said managing director Michael Morton.

Sam plans to use his previous podium finish as inspiration for the future.

"In 2022, we as a group thought about how we could support up-and-coming athletes in major sports like motorcycling, golf, fishing and running. We looked for young men and women who might be passionate about ZEROFIT products," Morton said.

"Sam is the perfect athlete we were looking for. He has a first-class demeanor on the track, in the paddock and away from the race environment. We're excited about his future, especially as he's a big fan of the Ice Weave and Heat Rub moves ," Morton added.

While many riders start the sport at a young age, Sam was captivated by watching his sister Chloe race Mini Motos, and when she decided to stop, an opportunity presented itself.

Blessed with talent, Sam's progress was rapid, with two wins at the David Wood Memorial Event in 2016 and then both a win and a lap record at the Sunflower Trophy at Bishopscourt that same year.

In 2018 he competed in the British Talent Cup, before moving up to compete in the Pirelli National Junior Superstock 600 Championship in 2019. He has improved with each race, finishing second twice and third twice last year and even starting from pole position.

He signed with reigning champions Binch Racing at the start of this season and is looking forward to a promising start to the current campaign, which began at Silverstone in April.

"My target is to win the championship, get in the top three and just keep going. You can fight until 25 in this division but I don't want to do that. This will be my last year and then I'll move up to the Supersport championship," said Sam, who works full-time as yard manager for Sloane Transport.

It's hard to juggle a 12-hour shift with training both in the gym and on the bike, but it's expensive to climb the ranks, so it has to be done.

So, as Scottish race fans prepare to welcome British Superbike's elite to the ancient kingdom of Fife, what does Sam have in store?

MotoGP might be a bit difficult, but ideally I'd like to race at World Supersport level with someone like Jonathan Rea.
 
Good luck with the rest of the season!