Jespersen to compete for Ten Kate Racing at the Catalunya Round
The Danish rider made his WorldSSP debut as a substitute rider at the Navarra Round and will get a second shot as the Championship heads to Barcelona
Simon Jespersen will get to make his second FIM Supersport World Championship appearance of the season as he returns for the Hyundai N Catalunya Round at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in place of Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), who has a clash with the title-deciding MotoE™ World Cup event at Misano.
Aegerter will lead the Championship regardless of the results of the Catalunya Round as he leads nearest rival Steven Odendaal (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) by 62 points with 50 available across the Catalunya Round. Aegerter is also in title contention in MotoE™, with the Swiss rider 11 points behind Alessandro Zaccone with the World Cup heading to the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” for two races.
Jespersen, who competed for Kallio Racing at Navarra and impressed with eighth place in Race 1 and ninth in Race 2, will take the place of Aegerter for the two Catalunya races. It is a circuit Jespersen knows well from his time competing in the Spanish Supersport championship, although it is the one circuit he has not stood on the podium on in 2021. The Dane currently sits third in the standings and 36 points back from the Championship leader. Jespersen will ride alongside Galang Hendra Pratama for Ten Kate Racing Yamaha throughout the Catalunya Round.
20-year-old Jespersen said: “To know that I will ride for Ten Kate Racing Yamaha in the next World Supersport round in Barcelona is probably one of the coolest experiences I have achieved in my career so far. I’m super grateful for this opportunity from the whole Ten Kate Racing Yamaha squad to let me replace Dominique, who is also the Championship leader. I will take this opportunity as a big learning process throughout the weekend and I will do my very best. Recently I made my debut in this Championship in Navarra. I was very positive about the results. For this weekend I will arrive with confidence in my mind that I can work with the Ten Kate squad. I have no expectations at all, I don’t want to put any pressure on myself, just enjoy and ride free. I want to be able to finish the weekend saying that I have done my absolutely 100% and leave with a big smile!”
Ten Kate Racing Yamaha Team Manager Kervin Bos added: “We want to go for the team championship with Ten Kate Racing Yamaha. When we know that Dominique had to miss the Catalunya round, we went looking for the best possible alternative. I think we found it with Simon Jespersen. We were tipped before the Navarra round by our partner SBS Brake Pads about Simon. The recommendation was more than right, as Simon left a very strong impression in Navarra and even took the lead in the race. Simon gets full support from Dominique’s crew. We are also proud to announce that SBS Brake Pads is our special event sponsor in Catalunya. I think that with Simon and Galang we can go for good results in Catalunya!”
Follow all the action from WorldSSP in Barcelona using the WorldSBK VideoPass!
