Ten Kate Racing has announced it will return to the World Superbike championship in 2019 and will reveal its manufacturer and rider line-up next month.
After the team had to declare bankruptcy following a late split from Honda at the end of 2018, with the Japanese manufacturer opting to take its World Superbike factory squad in-house with the team run by a dual Moriwaki and Althea effort, the Dutch team also confirmed its intention to return to the series at some stage in 2019.
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It is believed once a financial dispute had been settled with Honda, the team would be in a position to secure a manufacturer and rider for its comeback.
Paddock rumours have pointed towards both Yamaha and BMW being interested in teaming up with Ten Kate Racing, while a one-rider effort with Loris Baz appears to be the most likely setup for the team’s initial return.
In a statement release by Ten Kate Racing, the ten-time world champions confirmed it will officially announce its manufacturer and rider line-up, along with which rounds it will contest this season, at a press conference at Assen on April 2.
Ten Kate Racing had initially been targeting the start of the European stretch of the 2019 World Superbike championship which begins at Aragon on April 5-7 before the Assen round one week later on April 12-14.
World Superbike organisers are set to welcome back Ten Kate Racing given its prestige as a former world title-winning squad, while the 2019 permanent grid has shrunk down to 18 riders in the team’s absence.
Baz is also expected to be a popular choice for World Superbike chiefs given there is no French rider on the current World Superbike grid, while the Magny-Cours round (September 27-29) remains one of the best attended events on the calendar. The 26-year-old returned to World Superbikes with Althea BMW last year after three years in MotoGP.
