News

Another rider from South America will take to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid during the Motul Argentinean Round as Maximilian Scheib links up with the MIE Racing Honda Team at the Circuito San Juan Villicum. Scheib will race alongside home hero Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado, in place of Hafizh Syahrin with the Malaysian rider missing out due to injury and illness on what would have been his first visit to Argentina with WorldSBK.

27-year-old Scheib had one full-season WorldSBK campaign in 2020 which was curtailed by injury when he raced with the Orelac Racing VerdNatura squad, taking a best result of seventh in Race 2 at the iconic Phillip Island circuit. A crash in FP2 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya meant Scheib needed to undergo surgery and he missed the final two rounds of the season, finishing 21^st in the Championship with 11 points.

Prior to 2020, Scheib competed in STK1000 and took third in the 2018 season, the same year he made his WorldSBK debut with MV Agusta Reparto Corse. During his three seasons in STK1000, Scheib took two wins and nine podiums and improved his finishing position with each season. He took 13^th in 2016, his maiden season, with one win before taking eighth in 2017 and third in 2018. In 2022, Scheib had been competing in the Spanish Superbike championship, finishing ninth in the standings on a CBR1000RR-R machine.

Discussing his return to WorldSBK, Scheib said: “I am so happy to return to the WorldSBK paddock! The phone call came as a big surprise and I want to thank MIE Racing Honda for this opportunity and Antonio D’Angelo who has done an incredible job to get me ready for action again. To race here in Argentina with all the South American fans is going to be amazing. I want to enjoy the weekend and push to my own limits. I feel prepared and am in good shape, so the target will be to work step by step with the team and do the best we can.”

Syahrin was injured while training for a bicycle road race and, despite the minor injury sustained, he has been forced to sit out the Argentinean Round. Following further medical checks, it was also determined that Syahrin tested positive for Covid-19 with few symptoms. The Malaysian rider is expected to re-join the WorldSBK field, and the MIE Racing Honda Team, for round 11 of the 2022 season when the paddock travels to Indonesia for the penultimate round of the season as well as the season-ending Australian Round.

Watch the final three rounds of the 2022 season for only €9.99 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!