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The FIM Supersport World Championship will welcome another Spanish rider next year, as Héctor Barberá has announced that he will be lining up with Team Toth in 2019.

The Spaniard made a successful debut in WorldSSP last year, competing through the final third of the 2018 campaign with Kawasaki Puccetti Racing and he is now ready to take on a new challenge as he heads into his first full WorldSSP season onboard the Yamaha YZF R6 of the Hungarian squad.

Barberá is not short of experience as he competed for almost 15 years in the MotoGP™ paddock before moving to WorldSBK last year. The 32-year-old made his debut on the world stage in 2002 and finished third in the 125cc GP World Championship in 2003 and second in 2004. From there, he moved up to 250cc GP Championship for five seasons, before making the jump to MotoGP™ in 2010, where he made over 130 starts.

In 2018 Barberá rode the first six races of the Moto2™ season before making a successful step into WorldSSP for the final four rounds of the year. Riding on completely new race tracks for his first three races in Supersport before taking to the track at Losail Circuit for the last round of the year, Barberá was able to build on his pace and become a regular top ten finisher.

The steady progress made last season proved that Barberá is still capable of battling with the best, and with his determination the Spaniard is ready now to embrace a new and exciting challenge with Team Toth in WorldSSP.

Barberá explained: “I moved to WorldSSP for the final fourth of last year and really enjoyed riding in the category. I received different offers for 2019, but in the end,  I decided to stay in Supersport because I believe I have room to improve here and be able to fight for the victory soon. At this point of my career, all what I want is to be back fighting at the front and with this choice I think I will be able to do so! After meeting with the team, I understood they have a good package and Yamaha has been winning in the category recently. I can’t wait to be back at work. At the end of January will be out testing and I am already working hard and focusing on my fitness to be back to the first round of the season at Phillip Island at full strenght.  I would like to thank Team Toth, my manager, my sponsors and Yamaha for this big opportunity”.

Find out how Barbera and Team Toth progress together in 2019 thanks to the WorldSBK VideoPass.