Isaac Vinales loses Motoxracing Yamaha WSBK ride

Spanish rider Vinales, the cousin of MotoGP star Maverick, had been set to tackle the WSBK season with the new Motoxracing outfit, having been named on the championship's 2022 entry list back in January.

However, with a little over a week left until the season opener at Aragon on April 8-10, the one-bike Yamaha squad has announced that its solo R1 will instead be piloted by Italian rider Tamburini.

Vinales had made his WSBK debut last year racing for the Orelac Kawasaki team, scoring a best finish of ninth place on his way to 17th place in the riders' standings.

 

"I’m very pleased and excited to be able to debut in the Superbike World Championship, a goal I’ve had ever since founding the team," said Motoxracing boss Sandro Carusi.

"Unfortunately, some misunderstandings meant that we had to replace our rider and we’ve chosen Roberto Tamburini, with whom we’ve collaborated for a long time.

"We’re all highly motivated and keen to do well, so I’m sure we’ll give it our all. I want to thank our sponsors for supporting us and allowing us to embark on this exciting project.”

Tamburini, 31, raced in World Supersport from 2010 to '14 before becoming a frontrunner in the now-defunct Superstock 1000 series, finishing as runner-up in 2015 (behind Lorenzo Savadori) and '18 (behind Markus Reiterberger).

 

“I’m very pleased to compete in WorldSBK for the first time and I want to thank Sandro Carusi for this great opportunity," said Tamburini, who has taken part in recent tests at Misano and Assen.

"Our initial plans were different, but I’m happy to embark on a season that will no doubt prove challenging, but that I will take on with great motivation.

"We’ll be up against top-level teams and riders, and so we’ll need to do our very best. This is why I’m working hard to prepare physically too because it won’t be easy with three races over two days. It’s going to be a real challenge, and I’m very excited to get started.”

Tamburini will join the WSBK field for next week's two-day Dorna-supported official test at Aragon ahead of the start of the new season at the Spanish venue.