Loris Baz will soon appear as America's uncle since he will, in all likelihood, be on the MotoAmerica Superbike starting grid in 2021. News that is already considered official across the Atlantic and which confirms a solid rumor that has been known for several weeks already. The one he replaced, the Italian Zanetti, had almost announced it by admitting his anger at having been sidelined in favor of the Frenchman by an HSBK Racing team in which he believed. The former Yamaha protégé, who will therefore not have found an agreement with the Ten Kate team for WSBK, will ride a Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Loris Baz arrives in the United States to pilot a Ducati Panigale V4 R. Superbike for HSBK Racing in the championship MotoAmerica Superbike 2021. This certainty is that of the media roadracingworld.com, dear to Uncle Sam. The final details will soon be ironed out and the final agreement should be announced this week.
But who is the Celtic HSBK Racing Ducati? This team started the 2020 season by fielding the American PJ Jacobsen on a Ducati Panigale V4 R in the MotoAmerica Stock 1000 and Superbike Cup categories. Jacobsen dominated, winning the first two Stock 1000 races and the first three Superbike Cup races. But during a test session on June 28 at Road America, the Ducati Jacobsen caught fire while on track at high speed and he suffered severe burns that kept him out of action for the remainder of the 2020 season.
Celtic HSBK Racing, renamed Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York, brought in the Italian rider Lorenzo Zanetti to replace Jacobsen injured in the second half of the season. At the beginning, Zanetti rode Jacobsen's Stock 1000 machine in the Superbike races at Ridge Motorsports Park with mixed results. Then Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York brought back Zanetti with a factory Superbike and factory Ducati technicians for the race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS).
Loris Baz dismisses Zanetti
Zanetti won a MotoAmerica Superbike race at Indianapolis and he was on the podium in the other two Superbike races at IMS. The 33-year-old rider then took podium finishes in all three Superbike races at the WeatherTech Laguna Seca circuit at the end of the 2020 MotoAmerica season. At the time, Zanetti, official test rider for Ducati's Superbike program, and Celtic HSBK Racing executives have all said they hope to return with the same program in 2021 if they can find the budget to do so.
But it is ultimately Loris Baz, aged 28 since February 1, who joins the Ducati team from HSBK Racing, which will be managed by Eraldo Ferracci as Team Manager. The Frenchman broke into the FIM Superbike World Championship in 2012, aged 19, winning a race on his factory Kawasaki in his debut season. Baz won another World Superbike race in 2013 and finished on the podium 14 times in total during his three seasons with Kawasaki.
The tricolor left World Superbike to join the MotoGP World Championship, where he raced for three seasons (2015-2017) with his best race results being fourth place at Misano in 2015 and fourth place at Brno in 2016. 'last year, Baz ran for Ten Kate Yamaha in the FIM Superbike World Championship, reaching the podium four times and finishing eighth in the Championship in eight rounds of 24 races. An honorable record which was not, however, sufficient to ensure a future in the category this year.
