Returning Ducati BSB rider “went straight to the gym, been fixing myself”
“The Ducati has similar characteristics to what I remember," says Leon Haslam
Leon Haslam is returning from an injury-hit spell to return to a Ducati.
He has joined the Moto Rapido Ducati Racing team for the 2025 British Superbike Championship.
It means Haslam, who rode a BMW last year, is back on a Ducati for the first time since 2007.
He was fifth-fastest overall at the pre-season test at the Navarra circuit in Spain, 0.880s away from the leader.
Haslam said: “It’s good to be back! From my side the last time I rode a race bike was back in October, but we have had a productive winter.
“I had quite a lot of injuries over the last two years and so I pretty much went straight to the gym after Brands Hatch and have been fixing myself.
“Now I am back doing fun stuff again like trials riding and pit biking and I am feeling a lot stronger.
“Coming here to Navarra, I have been getting to know all the boys for the first time, it’s the first time adapting myself to this Ducati, and to be honest at this test we have gone through a big old list of stuff.
“We probably used the least amount of tyres to anyone but we are feeling pretty strong and competitive even though we haven’t thrown anything at it yet.
“The Ducati has similar characteristics to what I remember from the last time I rode one, obviously Ducati at the minute are really putting a lot of force into championships – it’s amazing.
“From my perspective, I have obviously been battling the Ducatis for a lot of years.
“I remember being teammates with Alvaro and seeing him move back to Ducati and win a championship it hurt a little so to finally get on a Ducati now is amazing.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
