Neukirchner has five years’ experience in the World Superbike championship with 10 podium finishes, one with Honda in 2005, as well as two wins in 2008 that pushed him to the fifth place in the series.
The German rider had a promising start in the 2009 season, with two podium finishes, but a broken right femur after a crash at Monza and a broken back suffered in training at Imola during his comeback kept him away for the rest of the season.
Doctors, however, have given him the green light for the following season, and his expected to debut on the CBR1000RR at the Portimao test on October 27-28.
“I have to say that my feeling is really good right now. The Ten Kate team is so big and experienced and the CBR1000RR is clearly such a strong package. Jonathan has proved that with his victories this year and I’m really looking forward to being his team-mate as we are good friends. It feels really great to be back on a Honda; I am feeling fit and I’m determined to put a good season together next year,” Max Neukirchner said in a release.
“As much as anyone else, we were caught by surprise when we found out about Max’s availability. We immediately saw a ‘dream team’ line-up with Jonathan Rea, which is probably the youngest pairing ever in a World Superbike championship team, with both riders already having wins under their belts. We understand that Max may need some time to find his full race-craft again but we are quite sure that his talent, motivation and determination will get him quickly back up to speed,” said Ronald ten Kate, team manager.
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