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There’ll be an extra name on the grid at the inaugural Catalunya WorldSBK Round, as 27-year-old German Jonas Folger (Team Benovo Action by MGM Racing Yamaha) will make his comeback to World Championship action as a wildcard. Folger has had a good career so far, having won numerous races in the Moto2™ World Championship, as well as in the 125cc World Championship and Moto3™, whilst also a podium finisher in MotoGP™. This will be his first taste of WorldSBK action as he aims to make a full-time return to World Championship competition in 2021. 

Having debuted in the 125cc World Championship in 2008 and scoring points, Folger made a full-time move to the class a year later, where he took a stunning podium at the French Grand Prix in just his fourth race of the season, putting him fifth in the Championship at the time. More top ten results followed, and he finished rookie of the year in 12^th overall. Folger had a more consistent 2010 but couldn’t replicate his podium, whilst 2011 saw him pick up a first win at Silverstone, a first for Germany in 125cc racing in nearly three years. The class changed to Moto3™ in 2012 and he was a regular podium contender in the second half of the year, taking victory at Brno. More podiums came in 2013 and he enjoyed his best season to-date with fifth overall.

2014 saw him graduate to Moto2™ action, taking two podiums at Jerez and Mugello and a pole position at Le Mans. His first victory in the class came at Losail during the season-opening round in 2015, as he went on to finish sixth overall. One more win and a few podiums came in 2016, including a thrilling battle between himself and Johann Zarco at home at the Sachsenring, before he moved up to MotoGP™ for 2017. Many top ten results occurred in the early part of the year and he led almost every lap of the German Grand Prix before being beaten by Marc Marquez in the closing stages. Despite having to withdraw through illness, he was still tenth overall at the end of the year. He has since made a brief return to Moto2™ and is now ready to tackle WorldSBK. 

Speaking ahead of his WorldSBK debut, Folger stated his delight to be back in World Championship action: “I am really happy to make my debut in World Superbike. It’s a very interesting class and I really like to ride the 1000cc motorcycles. With many riders already in this category that I have been racing in the past, the level is really high in WorldSBK. After such a long time not racing in the World Championship, I’m really looking forward to it!”

Follow Folger’s performances at Catalunya with the comprehensive WorldSBK VideoPass!