Petronas MIE Honda has announced Tarran Mackenzie will get his first laps on its WorldSBK-spec Honda CBR1000RR-R at the upcoming two-day test in Misano in place of its regular race riders.

The 2021 British Superbike Champion has been competing with the Malaysian-backed, Czech-based team in the WorldSSP Championship, but will be promoted to ride its Fireblade in Italy.

The call has come following a bruising Catalunya WorldSBK round for both of Petronas MIE Honda’s Eric Granado and Hafizh Syahrin after they were involved in separate incidents that required medical attention.

In order to give them time to recuperate, Mackenzie will ride the Honda CBR1000RR-R at Misano in their place.

“Tarran Mackenzie will take part in the next two-day WorldSBK testing session set to take place on 11-12 May at the Misano World Circuit (Italy). 

"The British rider, already competing in the WorldSSP 600 series in the same colours of Midori Moriwaki’s squad, will be the sole rider for the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team, as Eric Granado and Hafizh Syahrin continue to rest and recover following crashes during the recent Catalan WorldSBK Round."

The two day outing will be a boost to the Briton, who has been struggling to make an impression in the WorldSSP on the out-dated Honda CBR600RR machine, which lacks of the power of its rivals due to the recent change in regulation to allow larger capacity machines to compete,

It is believed Honda is readying a brand-new mid-capacity sportsbike to compete in the series, most likely from next year.

Even so, a positive performance in the test from a rider with significant Superbike experience from his time in BSB could convince Petronas MIE Honda to run a wild-card for him at his upcoming home round at Donington Park.

CLICK HERE to view the latest 2023 WorldSBK Championship standings after Round 4 of 12 [Catalunya WorldSBK]