Ten Kate Racing are absent from the official WorldSSP entry list published today and a brief statement from the Dutch tuner confirms they will not race in the class next season.
Ronald and Gerrit Ten Kate made their name building and racing very fast CBR600s but with the current model due for deletion and no replacement, they have decided to concentrate on WorldSBK with Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl. An inquiry sent to their PR firm received the brief response ‘no Supersport’.
Kyle Ryde, Gino Rea, Luke Stapleford, Kyle Smith and Stefan Hill are the confirmed Brits who will try and challenge Kenan Sofuoglu for the 2017 title. In their way will be the two new Yamaha-supported teams, PJ Jacobsen on an MV Agusta and Jules Cluzel on a Honda.
Luke Hopkins has joined Alex Murley in the Supersport300 class.