Christophe Ponsson has signed with Team Pedercini, starting with this weekend’s Acerbis Imola Round. Having started 2015 with Grillini SBK Team, the Lyon-born rider now replaces Javier Alviz to become David Salom’s team-mate.

Admitting that moving to another outfit during the World Championship season will be a challenge, Ponsson is nevertheless looking forward to his latest prospect.

“It’s never easy when you join another team during the season but I’m very happy to have this opportunity,” says the 19-year-old, who will not turn 20 until December. “I know that I will receive a warm welcome in the Pedercini team. It’s a big family and a very experienced team. I can’t wait to arrive at Imola to discover my new squad. I’d like to thank all the people who are working on this new project.”

Now eight races into his World Superbike career, Ponsson has twice scored points; first in the opening round of the season at Phillip Island with 15th place, before bettering this to score a 14th position in Aragon.

“My goal stays, more or less the same,” he continues. “I need to make some progress and to learn something from each race weekend for the remainder of the season. I am now going to be in a better environment and surrounded by people who are both motivated and experienced enough to help me reach my goals.

“Everything is ready for Imola; I’m in great shape and looking forward to working with people who have the same vision of motorcycle racing as me.”

Ponsson becomes the fourth different team-mate to David Salom so far this season, with team owner Lucio Pedercini having previously enlisted the services of Australian Matthew Walters, South African Greg Gildenhuys and the aforementioned Javier Alviz of Spain.