MotoE front runners Granado and Ferrari get Estoril WorldSBK call up
Eric Granado will make his WorldSBK Championship debut at the 2020 season finale in Estoril, while his MotoE World Cup rival Matteo Ferrari will get a second outing this year on Ducati machinery.
Fresh from completing his season in the all-electric MotoGP support series, Granada - a three-time winner on the Energica Ego machines - will look towards a potential future in WorldSBK when he steps aboard the MIE Racing Honda CBR1000RR-R.
Joining Takumi Takahashi as the outfit expands to a two-bike entry once more, Granado will become the first Brazilian rider to start a WorldSBK race since Alex Barros bowed out at the end of 2006.
“I want to thank Honda Brazil for giving me a chance to be one of few riders in the country to race in the FIM Superbike World Championship. It will also be my first contact with the new CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, and I am very happy about this. I've already raced at Estoril, which is a good thing, and have actually won two European Moto2 rounds at the track.”
He’ll have familiar company this weekend from Ferrari, who will get a second outing this season following his point-scoring debut at Motorland Aragon with Motocorsa Racing.
This time, however, he will be on the Barni Racing Panigale V4 R in place of Samuele Cavalieri, who had been deputising for the now-retired Marco Melandri.
“I'm very happy to race in the World Superbike Championship with the Barni Racing Team. After the good season of 2018 in the CIV I have always kept the suit ready for SBK, what better opportunity of this last race.
“Estoril is a track where I raced last year in CEV Moto2 so I have a quite recent experience. It will be important to get tuned immediately with the team and find the automatism with the Superbike. I'm confident that we can have a good weekend, my goal is to improve the results I obtained in Aragòn at my debut.
“I come from a tough weekend where I played for the Championship in Moto E, but I still want to get involved with the usual approach: keep head down and work hard.”
This weekend’s Estoril WorldSBK will be the second event of 2020 to be held in Portugal, though the first held at the former GP venue since 1993.
