Photo: Honda Racing
The early rumors proved true as Honda WorldSBK recently announced it signed a new contract with German rider Stefan Bradl for the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship along with former MotoGP Champion Nicky Hayden.
At 26 years, Bradl has a ton of experience at international level. Starting in 2005 on 125cc bikes, he has collected nineteen podium finishes and seven wins across all Grand Prix classes.
After winning the 2011 Moto2 World Championship, Stefan entered MotoGP, joining the LCR Honda Team and managed to achieve a second-place finish at Laguna Seca in 2013.
“It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m really looking forward to this new challenge with a really competitive team and I’m sure we’ll do great things together,” Bradl said in a press conference.
“Of course, this is going to be a whole new experience for me but I will try to adapt as quickly as possible, in order to get some really good results. I can’t wait to try the Fireblade and, obviously, it’ll be fantastic to work together with Nicky.”
Honda WorldSBK is also thanking rider Michael van der Mark for his efforts and wins during his contract with the team, while also declaring to maintain unconditional support for him for the rest of this year’s championship.
In current championship standings, Michael is placed 5th while Hayden sits below on 6th. Van der Mark claimed four third-place podium finishes this year while having to abandon two races, while his teammate claimed only two and retired from three sessions.
The gap between Michael and Davide Giuliano on 4th is basically inexistent, both pilots scoring 185 points. And with four races to go this season, chances are the Dutch could gain another position.
Looking at the manufacturers score table for 2016 WorldSBK so far, Kawasaki is leading with 421 points, followed by Ducati with 326 and Honda on third with only 241. The list is completed by BMW, Yamaha, Aprilia and MV Augusta in this order.
After winning the 2011 Moto2 World Championship, Stefan entered MotoGP, joining the LCR Honda Team and managed to achieve a second-place finish at Laguna Seca in 2013.
“It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m really looking forward to this new challenge with a really competitive team and I’m sure we’ll do great things together,” Bradl said in a press conference.
“Of course, this is going to be a whole new experience for me but I will try to adapt as quickly as possible, in order to get some really good results. I can’t wait to try the Fireblade and, obviously, it’ll be fantastic to work together with Nicky.”
Honda WorldSBK is also thanking rider Michael van der Mark for his efforts and wins during his contract with the team, while also declaring to maintain unconditional support for him for the rest of this year’s championship.
In current championship standings, Michael is placed 5th while Hayden sits below on 6th. Van der Mark claimed four third-place podium finishes this year while having to abandon two races, while his teammate claimed only two and retired from three sessions.
The gap between Michael and Davide Giuliano on 4th is basically inexistent, both pilots scoring 185 points. And with four races to go this season, chances are the Dutch could gain another position.
Looking at the manufacturers score table for 2016 WorldSBK so far, Kawasaki is leading with 421 points, followed by Ducati with 326 and Honda on third with only 241. The list is completed by BMW, Yamaha, Aprilia and MV Augusta in this order.
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