More pieces of the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship jigsaw are falling into place with the announcement that Accolate Smrz Racing will run Victor Rodriguez Nuñez and Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez in the 2021 WorldSSP300 season. Both riders competed in the 2020 season and will be looking to build upon strong showings across the season, which will be Perez Gonzalez’s first full campaign.

Rodriguez Nuñez claimed two top-seven finishes in the 2020 season although a technical infringement meant he was excluded from the results at both the Aragon and Teruel Rounds; the latter meaning he lost his maiden victory after starting from 30^th place. The 20-year-old has shown plenty of promise and potential in his first WorldSSP300 campaign and will be looking to build on that.

Rodriguez Nuñez, who also finished second in the European Talent Cup in 2018 and won the British Motostar class in the same year, said: “I am very excited about this opportunity that the team and Kawasaki have given me in 2021. I learned a lot about the category and the bikes last year and I think we are ready to make a step forward and fight for the title. I would like to say thanks to Gaman Racing Global Service, Accolade Smrz Racing Team and Kawasaki for making this possible.”

The Spaniard will be joined by Perez Gonzalez who is gearing up for his first full season in the category. He as previously contested eight races across two seasons in 2019 and 2020, taking a best result of 12^th at Donington Park in 2019. His best result in 2020 was 15^th in Race 1 at Estoril and Perez Gonzalez will be hoping to break into the top ten in his first full-season campaign.

He said: “I am really happy to have joined a new team and to be back on a Kawasaki. I would like to thank the team for this opportunity and to Gaman Racing Global Service, it would not have been possible to continue to fight for my dreams without them.”

Team manager Jakub Smrz, himself a former WorldSBK pole-man and podium achiever, declared there was scope for a third rider to be added but he had been unable to find a Czech rider. He said: “There have been a few important changes this year. The main one being our new general partner Accolade, whom I would like to thank for their collaboration. I am sure that they will also receive our thanks in the form of good results and the best brand representation possible. I would also like to welcome our two new riders, Victor and José Luis, I believe we can give them everything they need to achieve the best results possible.

“Regarding the rest of our plans for this season 2021, it is still work in progress so I am not able to provide more details at the moment, however, I can say that I tried to find a Czech rider but unfortunately, I did not find the right candidate for this season. We will try to work with Czech riders in the national championship and I hope that we can find someone during the season or for next year who will be a suitable candidate not only from a performance perspective.”

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