Ryan Vickers to debut in WorldSBK for Pedercini Kawasaki
The British youngster will aim to make a good showing of himself at Most this weekend
The 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is fast approaching its halfway point and for the Prosecco DOC Czech Round, a new name will feature in World Superbike. Ryan Vickers will make his first appearance in the WorldSBK class as he joins the TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki outfit at the Autodrom Most. Vickers, who currently races in the British Superbike championship, replaces Leon Haslam who has been requested by Kawasaki to fly to Suzuka in Japan early, in preparation for the Suzuka 8 Hours event. TPR Team Pedercini Racing thanks Kawasaki for their assistance in finding a suitable replacement for Leon and is excited to welcome Ryan into the TPR family. They also extend thanks to FHO Racing, Ryan’s current team in BSB, for allowing him to take part in this weekend’s event.
Vickers, aged 23, is no stranger to Kawasaki machinery, having achieved a best result of fourth at Thruxton on his way to P12 overall in the 2021 British Superbike Championship. He has also had experience of the WorldSBK paddock before, having debuted in 2018 at Donington Park for Simon Buckmaster’s PTR Honda outfit. He showed great promise despite crashing in the race and at the end of the year, became one of the youngest Champions in the Superstock 600 class in the UK, before making a big leap into BSB.
Speaking about the opportunity and ready to showcase his talent on the world stage, Vickers said: “I’m really excited about this weekend to be joining Team Pedercini Racing for a Wildcard opportunity at Most. It’s always been a goal of mine to eventually race in World Superbike and to get this little taster is amazing, so a big thank you to Lucio, Guim and everyone else involved. Also, thanks to Faye Ho for allowing me to take this opportunity! I’m going to enjoy this weekend and learn as much as I can from the experience.”
Team principal Lucio Pedercini also gave comment and shares Vickers’ excitement: “We are sorry that we cannot run with Leon as planned in the Czech Republic but fully understand his obligations with Kawasaki in relation to the Suzuka 8 Hour event. We are part of the Kawasaki family and if Leon can help them in Japan, we will be very happy. We are however excited to welcome young British rider Ryan Vickers to the team for the Czech Round. He has shown good pace in BSB and we look forward to working with him in Most.”
Watch Vickers in action this weekend at Most with the WorldSBK VideoPass!
