Loris Baz will make a welcome return to the WorldSBK Championship after being called up to replace the injured Chaz Davies at GoEleven Ducati for this weekend’s Jerez round.
Davies suffered two broken ribs after coming together with Lucas Mahias during the WorldSBK Superpole Race in Barcelona, ruling him out for at least Jerez, which marks the second of three back-to-back races.
His absence has opened the door for one of WorldSBK’s most esteemed competitors in Baz to make his comeback on the world stage.
The Frenchman is a trusted hand in WorldSBK, most recently competing last year with the Ten Kate Yamaha squad, picking up four podiums en route to eighth in the overall standings, only to be frozen out of the 2021 deals when the Dutch chose to focus only on WorldSSP.
Though he hasn’t raced the Ducati Panigale V4 R in the world championship, Baz comes to WorldSBK having just completed his first season in the MotoAmerica on the Italian machine.
“First of all I want to wish Chaz a quick recovery, it's never nice when a rider has an injury and I hope he gets back on the bike soon.
“I thank Team Go Eleven for the opportunity given, as well as Ducati and my team in America, HSBK, and Ducati New York, for letting me come back to Europe earlier than expected to be able to participate in the next WorldSBK races.
“It was a last-minute deal, I still have to fix everything to take the flight, but I can't wait to be in Jerez, a track I really like, and get on the Superbike version of the Ducati V4-R. I'll do my best and give 100% as always!"
Aboard a privateer Ducati, Baz was a standout in his first season of competing Stateside, achieving eight podiums en route to fourth in the standings.
