Official: Pedercini Kawasaki retains Loris Cresson for 2022 WorldSBK season

Loris Cresson has officially become the 24th and final WorldSBK rider to take his place on the 2022 grid after coming to an agreement with Pedercini Kawasaki. 

The announcement of Cresson staying with Pedercini Kawasaki has also officially closed the door on Tom Sykes - expected to sign with Visiontrack Ducati in BSB - staying in the world championship.

A rookie in 2021, Cresson will take part in his second full season in WorldSBK, which is one he will hope and need to significantly improve upon. 

The Belgian rider scored points (Assen) in just one of the 32 races he competed in, which is why becoming a more consistent top 15 runner is Cresson’s main ‘target’ for 2022. 

Speaking about his new deal, Cresson added: "I am more than happy to continue with the TPR Team Pedercini Racing. It’s been a long winter discussing everything with the team and in the end, we were able to find a solution to continue together. 

"Lucio [Pedercini] is a great guy, and we share the same end goal. I am happy to continue with my guys inside the box because we found a good way to work as last year progressed. There was always a good atmosphere and I trust the guys completely.

"I can’t wait to get back on the race bike but in the meantime, I will test a stock bike like many riders do to be in the best shape possible. 

"The plan looks good, and it should be a good year for us. The level in WorldSBK is high but my target is to score points in all the races, and I feel strong mentally and after my injury I am also now feeling strong physically."

While the team’s participation in the 2022 season was made official last month, the announcement of Cresson staying with the team took much longer than expected as the team was also in discussions with new Lee Hardy Racing BSB rider Leon Haslam, while also holding out to see whether main title sponsor ‘Outdo Batteries’ would continue to back the Italian-based outfit.

Although the latter remains unconfirmed, Lucio Pedercini is ‘delighted’ to finally confirm Cresson as his rider.  

"2021 was a year of mutual understanding. 2022 will be the year in which we will do our best to achieve the goals we have set ourselves," said the Team Owner. 

"We are happy to have Loris Cresson in our team again this year and I am delighted to finally be able to confirm this... our adventure continues, and we are looking forward to making a step on track this year. 

"As a team we are also updating our team website and will be interacting with our fans and the fans of WorldSBK in a much more dynamic way. 

"I can also say that we are working hard behind the scenes and are confident that a second machine will be on track at some point during the season."