Taccini with Ten Kate Racing Yamaha in WorldSSP: "In 2022 I want to be at the front!"
The 19-year-old rider has clear objectives ahead of his second year in World Supersport, aiming to leave his mark riding on a YZF-R6
A new season is about to begin in the FIM Supersport World Championship. 30 riders are ready to fight for success and among them - with the number 24 - there will be a young Italian who wants to leave his mark in the intermediate class. He is Leonardo Taccini (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), who was born in Rome in 2002 and living in Formello, not so far from the Italian capital. In 2021 he made his debut on the international stage, gaining a lot of experience that for sure will be useful in the upcoming year.
For Taccini, motorbikes have always been a passion, a love that belongs to him since he was a child, as he tells us: “I always wanted to become a rider. It all started when I started to ride in Civitavecchia with my first bike.”
Despite his young age, Leonardo was very soon successful: in fact, at the age of 11 at Mugello he was on track as a wildcard in the 125cc Italian Championship race. The following season he won the title before repeating that success in PreMoto3 with the 250cc 4-stroke. In 2019, he joined the Gresini Racing Junior Team, taking part in the Moto3 Italian Championship: a positive season for him, even if with mixed results, while in 2020 he is engaged in the CEV Moto3™ with the Leopard Impala Junior Team.
In 2021 he entered the FIM Supersport World Championship with the Orelac Racing outfit, racing in the European rounds and taking part in the WorldSSP Challenge: his debut coincided with the Aragon Round while his experience on a Kawasaki ended with the Portuguese weekend at Portimao. In Argentina, for the first time, he rode with Ten Kate Racing and proved to be immediately at ease with the Yamaha as confirmed by the 11th place in Race 2; his best result of the season in his second race with the team and Yamaha.
Thanks to these performances, Taccini earned his confirmation within the same team. He said: "The team was very happy with what I was able to do on my debut with them and so we started talking about 2022. Finally, we managed to find a very good agreement for both parties. I have a clear goal for this season: I want to do the best I can, because we have all the credentials to do that, also thanks to the great team spirit we share. I know almost all the tracks on the calendar, except for Indonesia and Australia".
In this 2022 campaign, Taccini will have as teammate a rider who knows very well what winning in World Supersport means: World Champion Dominique Aegerter. "I feel really at ease with him,” underlines Taccini. “He sees me as his 'little brother' to whom he is giving some advice. For me he is an added value, also considering that he won the title riding this bike".
Taccini is certainly not lacking in motivation for the new experience that awaits him in the WorldSSP riding the Yamaha YZF-R6: "I want to be up there this year; I think it is an achievable goal considering the work done with the team and the progress made. I really like the WorldSBK paddock and my dream is to be in the premier class here. In the meantime, I'm thinking about 2022; I'm convinced that if we work hard, we can achieve great results!”
Follow Taccini’s progress throughout 2022 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!
