The boss of Advocates Racing runs his Ducati team just like his business

Lecha Khouri decided almost on the spur of the moment to enter his team – which had originally been set up for the BSB – into the 2026 Superbike World Championship. Just a few weeks before the start of the season – during the Portimão test – the Australian was persuaded to do so by rider Tommy Bridewell. The Englishman thus embarked on his first full World Championship season at the age of 37.

Given the circumstances, the results achieved so far have been extremely positive. At Most, Bridewell secured his first single-digit finish in eighth place, whilst at his home race at Donington Park he achieved his first top-five finish.

“At the start, everyone said: ‘You won’t manage it; Tommy Bridewell won’t make it into the top 10’,” recalls Khouri. “But Superbikes Advocates Racing has secured a fifth, sixth, seventh and a ninth place. We’ve firmly established ourselves in the top 10, which is absolutely brilliant. Tommy’s a real character, and that’s a good thing. He’s undoubtedly got the skill on the bike, but he’s also got the charisma and the personality. He greets the fans and engages with them – and he doesn’t have a entourage! Some of the other riders have five people around them, so you can’t even get near them. I like Tommy’s approach – it’s just like ours. He’s hard-working, humble, just goes about his business and gets real results.”

The team consists of a mixed bunch with national and international experience, who first had to familiarise themselves with the Ducati V4R in World Championship spec. Khouri simply set the tone.

An der Rennstrecke hat Teammanager Alan Jackson das Sagen

Foto: Advocates Racing

“I’m so proud of the team – Mick Shanley, Alan Jackson, the lads are simply brilliant, and the mechanics are remarkable. You know, everyone works together like a family, and that’s exactly what I wanted to create from the very start. I told them right from the start that my company is a family business through and through. There’s a real family atmosphere,” emphasised the Australian, who works in the property sector. “We have staff in the company who were already there in my grandfather’s day and then carried on under my father. And now with me – which means they’ve been with us for 45 years, long before I was born. So they’ve known me since I was a baby, and now they’re still working for us. I’ve explained this to some of the team members, and I want to build this team with the same atmosphere.”

Khouri continued: “What happens in my business world must also happen in my racing world. That’s how it works better. You work together in harmony, peace and love. You have to bear this in mind: when the team travels to a race, they’re on the road for a whole week. That’s at least 15 or 16 weeks a year. You have to be like a family. You mustn’t fall out with one another or have ego issues. We try to avoid all that. And so far, it’s working.”