The final place on the 2022 WorldSBK grid has been decided as Loris Cresson begins his second season with TPR Team Pedercini Racing.
With both Leon Haslam and Tom Sykes rumoured to be mulling over the Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10RR before opting to return to the British Championship, Cresson completes the World Superbike rostrum for the coming year.
The 23-year-old Belgian took the step from World Supersport to the top tier in 2021 with Lucio Pedercini’s outfit but missed the closing two rounds due to an accident during the Portimao weekend. He returns to the satellite Kawasaki squad for his sophomore season aiming to rack up the points after a winter of rehabilitation with pre-season testing set to commence for the Italian team in late March at Barcelona’s Catalunya Circuit.
“I am more than happy to continue with the TPR Team Pedercini Racing,” cresson confirmed. “It’s been a long winter discussing everything with the team and in the end we were able to find a solution to continue together.
“Lucio is a great guy, and we share the same end goal. I am happy to continue with my guys inside the box because we found a good way to work as last year progressed. There was always a good atmosphere and I trust the guys completely.
“I can’t wait to get back on the race bike but in the meantime, I will test a stock bike like many riders do to be in the best shape possible. The plan looks good, and it should be a good year for us. The level in WorldSBK is high but my target is to score points in all of the races, and I feel strong mentally and after my injury I am also now feeling strong. I want to thank all my family, Andi and everyone who is supporting me and also to Lucio and the entire TPR Team Pedercini because they too have made sacrifices to make this happen.”
While Cresson will run the full WorldSBK season, Pedercini is hopeful of entering ‘wildcards’ with the team are working hard behind the scenes to ensure a second bike is on the grid at several events.
“2021 was a year of mutual understanding,” Team Principal, Lucio Pedercini added. ”2022 will be the year in which we will do our best to achieve the goals we have set ourselves. We are happy to have Loris Cresson in our team again this year and I am delighted to finally be able to confirm this... our adventure continues, and we are looking forward to making a step on track this year.
“As a team we are also updating our team website and will be interacting with our fans and the fans of WorldSBK in a much more dynamic way. I can also say that we are working hard behind the scenes and are confident that a second machine will be on track at some point during the season.”
