In what might look a shock move from the outside, former HRC WorldSBK rider Leon Camier has been appointed the team’s manager from today.

Camier will take over from Jaume ‘Precious’ Colom, who has moved on to pastures new, at the upcoming Jerez tests which begin on January 20 but has retired from circuit riding as his shoulder is still not in the right place.

“I was basically deciding what I was going to do, what to invest some time and energy into,” Camier told bikesportnews.com.

“I had a few business ideas and things I was looking at. One of them I was moving ahead with, but then I got this phone call from Alberto Puig and he certainly got my attention, obviously.

“On the HRC side, the bosses are the same as when I was there in 2019. So I knew the Japanese management in charge of the superbike project and such, and a lot of the actual technicians.

“So, I got the call from Alberto asking if I was interested and I took a couple of days to stew on it and then gave him the absolute yes, I definitely was. Now I have a new role in a field I love.”