News

After suffering a fractured right radius at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Rob Hartog (Team Hartog – Against Cancer) is already counting down the days until he can return to the tarmac. The 2018 European Supersport champion was successfully operated on in Melbourne two days after his FP2 crash, returning home shortly after to fully focus on his road to recovery.

While the Dutch rider continues rehabbing his right arm, his temporary replacement inside the Team Hartog structure has been confirmed. Timothy Joseph Cua Alberto will debut in the FIM Supersport World Championship at the Pirelli Thai Round, thus becoming the first Philippine rider ever to race in the series.

The 21-year-old from San Juan (Philippines) was a fixture in the European Superstock 1000 Championship in 2018, his first season inside the WorldSBK paddock. Cua Alberto picked up 19 points and two 11^th-place finishes as his best results whilst representing Motocorsa Racing. Now, he trades the Panigale R for a Kawasaki ZX-6R and sets his sights on a top-15 finish at Chang International Circuit.

The Philippines also becomes the 48^th country to be represented on the WorldSSP grid, as well as the seventh Asian nation after Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Qatar, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Follow all the action from the second date on the World Supersport calendar thanks to WorldSBK VideoPass.