Ten Kate Honda have this morning confirmed that Japanese MotoGP star Hiro Aoyama will partner Jonathan Rea in next year's World Superbike Championship.

It would seem that Honda are pushing the 2012 Fireblade hard in its 20th anniversary year and putting the soon-to-be-ex Gresini man next to Rea makes a formidable pairing. It is not yet known whether the bike will be in Castrol colours for a second season.

Aoyama was the last ever 250cc World Champion in 2009, before the series became Moto2. He rode a Honda RS250RW to victory with four wins during the season, beating rivals Hector Barbera, Marco Simoncelli and Alvaro Bautista to the coveted title.

"I have raced in MotoGP for the last couple of years and it has really been a great experience for me. I really want to thank Fausto Gresini and all the staff and technicians of Team San Carlo Honda Gresini for this extraordinary period in my career. Now I have the opportunity to go to World Superbike with Honda and Ten Kate Racing and I’m very excited about this new challenge. I don’t know very much about Superbike but I really hope to make a good job together with my new team," said the Japanese rider.