Gino Rea exits Bike Devil Kawasaki team after one round

Gino Rea announces he has parted ways with the Bike Devil Racing team following the opening round of the 2020 British Superbike Championship

Gino Rea - Bike Devil Racing [credit: Ian Hopgood Photography]

Former Moto2 rider Gino Rea has announced he has exited the Bike Devil Racing team after just a single round of the 2020 British Superbike Championship.

The British rider – who a European Superstock 600 Champion and WorldSSP winner – was making a full-time return to BSB this season after a handful of outings with the Bike Devil Racing towards the latter end of the 2019 season on MV Agusta machinery.

The team had originally planned to run the Ducati Panigale V4 R in this year’s series but concerns over getting the necessary parts from Italy in the run up to the delayed 2020 season because of the coronavirus prompted a decision to switch to the Kawasaki ZX-10RR in instead.

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However, though the pair were point-scorers together at the season opener at Donington Park with a run to 12th place in race three, Rea announced on Instagram that he has parted ways with team.

“For reasons that I believe affected our time on track together, I have decided to part ways with Bike Devil Racing team following the first round of the 2020 BSB Championship. I wish the Bike Devil team all the best in the future and thank them for the opportunity.”

Bike Devil Racing have also confirmed the split on Twitter, but are yet to confirm which rider will compete in place of Rea at this weekend’s second round at Snetterton.

“To confirm Ginos news that he has decided to leave the team after a meeting last week. We wish him well in what he does next and we will be organising the team line up in the coming days.”