The Kawasaki Puccetti team has announced that Héctor Barberà will join the team for the remainder of the 2018 FIM Supersport World Championship season, replacing Sheridan Morais, himself replacing the now retired Kenan Sofuoglu.
The Spanish rider will make his WorldSSP debut at the upcoming Nolan Portuguese Round, partnering Hikari Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Team) for the final four races of the season.
Barberà has a long and successful history in the MotoGP™ paddock. The 31-year-old from Valencia made his debut on the world stage in 2002 in the 125cc series, taking third place in the championship the following year and second in 2004. In 2005, Barberà moved up to 250cc where he stayed for five seasons, achieving a second place in the 2009 championship standings with three victories.
In 2010, the Spaniard made the jump to MotoGP™ when he was still just 23 years old. Barberà raced continuously in the premier class until the end of last year, while at Avintia alongside WorldSBK rider Loris Baz (BMW Racing Team GULF Althea). This year, Barberà competed in the first six races of the Moto2™ season before now taking the next step in WorldSSP.
Manuel Puccetti, the team manager, explains how the arrival of the Spanish star came about: “Our agreement with Sheridan Morais was only to last until the Rimini round and we are all very grateful to him for his help. I looked for a replacement driver and was delighted that Héctor Barberà was available and interested in joining the team. It's an honor for me to have such an experienced rider on the team. Héctor comes from a higher level having competed for 15 consecutive seasons in the FIM Road Racing World Championship, eight of which were in the MotoGP category. I believe the team will work hard to give him everything he needs to achieve good results in his new adventure in WorldSSP. It won't be easy since he will have to start his experience riding the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R on three new tracks for him – Portimao, Magny Cours and El Villicum – but I'm sure he has all the potential to do well . If the results match our expectations, we would really like to confirm it for next season.”
Barbera is delighted with this opportunity: “I am really motivated and eager to get back on the track and I am lucky to be able to count on the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team. I was able to visit their headquarters and saw with my own eyes how well organized the team was and I know it is a winning team. Manuel is giving me a huge opportunity and I would like to reward him with good results. I want to win and I train hard for that. I am happy. Both the team and I are in the same condition. We are really experienced and we have all the potential to do well. I would like to thank Manuel and Kawasaki for putting me in a position to regain my confidence at such an important time for me. ”
Source: WorldSBK.com
