Loris Cresson to be confirmed at Pedercini Kawasaki

Loris Cresson is set to be confirmed as the lone Pedercini Kawasaki WorldSBK rider for 2022 after plans to sign new BSB rider Leon Haslam failed to materialise.

Robert Jones

18 Feb 2022

Loris Cresson, Donington Park WorldSBK 2021
© Gold and Goose

Loris Cresson is set to be confirmed as the lone Pedercini Kawasaki rider for the 2022 WorldSBK championship.

Cresson, who competed for Pedercini Kawasaki as part of a two-rider team last season, was expected to do so once again this upcoming season.

But with 2013 world champion Tom Sykes and more recently Leon Haslam electing to go elsewhere - Haslam has officially joined Lee Hardy Racing Kawasaki in BSB - the team now finds itself without a second rider.

At the end of January, Dorna published the official WorldSBK entry list for the upcoming season, with Pedercini Kawasaki the only team without their rider line-up confirmed.

Part of the delay in Team Owner Lucio Pedercini announcing his plans is due to Chinese main sponsor Outdo Batteries not yet confirming whether it will continue to back the team.

Pedercini Kawasaki have been a mainstay inside the Superbike class since 1998, but with pre-season testing fully underway, getting its 2022 plans finalised, and quickly, is paramount for both the team and Cresson who had a tough 2021 campaign.

The Belgian rider scored points on just one occasion which came during race one at Assen.

Once Cresson officially joins the team, it means a 24-rider grid will be complete while Cresson and Pedercini will be the fifth ZX-10RR to be confirmed after KRT duo Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes, Puccetti’s Lucas Mahias and the series’ youngest rider Oliver Konig who will ride for Orelac Racing Verdnatura.

Confirmed 2022 WorldSBK grid:

Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK: Toprak Razgatlioglu/Andrea Locatelli

GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team: Garrett Gerloff/Kohta Nozane

Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha: Christophe Ponsson

Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team: Isaac Vinales

Kawasaki Racing WorldSBK Team: Jonathan Rea/Alex Lowes

Puccetti Kawasaki: Lucas Mahias

Orelac Racing Verdnatura: Oliver Konig

Pedercini Kawasaki: Loris Cresson*

Aruba.it Racing Ducati: Alvaro Bautista/Michael Rinaldi

Motocorsa Racing: Axel Bassani

Team GoEleven Ducati: Philipp Oettl