Brett McCormick going to the U.S.

Given the state of the superbike series in both Canada and the U.S. — basically, no factory involvement and abbreviated schedules — it's probably no great surprise that teenage wonderboy Brett McCormick plans to head south of the border.

Running basically a self-financed team after Blackfoot Motorcycles in Calgary and Suzuki Canada both dropped out of road racing support, McCormick will remain paired with the Picotte Racing team which which he's achieved stellar results in Canada.

The plan is to race the Superbike class, but the team is also preparing a GSX-R600 to attack the "Daytona Superbike" class in the 200-miler to run under the lights at the opening AMA event of the year March 5 at Daytona.

With the cutbacks in the U.S., onlookers have surmised that this might be the year for a good privateer team to shine, and McCormick and the Picotte team definitely have the credentials to do so. With five wins out of seven races in Canada in 2009, a lap record at every track, and just missing the title to Jordan Szoke by a hair, there can't be any doubt of McCormick's speed or the quality of the team's prep work.

McCormick said, "It's tough after a stellar year to not have a ride this year, but I guess at this point in my career it's time to prove myself on a bigger stage, and the States is obviously the place to do that. I know Pascal and the guys are a world class team."