Ex-MotoGP rider Jonas Folger to make WSBK debut

Ex-MotoGP rider Jonas Folger will make his debut in WSBK at Catalunya.

The German rider will make his debut in WSBK on a Yamaha YZF-R1 on the race weekend of September 19th-20th.

Folger raced for the Tech3 MotoGP team in 2017 and scored a podium at his home race, however had to forfeit his MotoGP career after just 13 races when he was diagnosed with Gilbert’s syndrome which put him out of racing contention. He was replaced at the team for 2018 by Hafizh Syahrin.

Since this, Folger has slowly but surely worked his way back up and participated in some Moto2 races in 2019 but was not enjoying his time on a smaller cc motorbike. He also was the European test rider for Yamaha in 2019 but this did not go to plan and he and Yamaha split after just a few tests.

Speaking to the WorldSBK website Folger said “I am really happy to make my debut in World Superbike. It’s a very interesting class and I really like to ride the 1000cc motorcycles. With many riders already in this category that I have been racing in the past, the level is really high in WorldSBK. After such a long time not racing in the World Championship, I’m really looking forward to it!”

“I want to come back to World Championship and, I’ve also had some wildcards in Moto2™ but I wasn’t feeling great in the smaller categories. I knew that if I want to come back to racing in any category, then I need to come back and race a 1000cc bike and a Superbike, as that is what I can do well. That’s why my new goal is to go to World Superbike and I will do everything that I can to be good in Barcelona.”

Folger has already taken two wins at Assen this year on the Yamaha R1 in the IDM championship.

Featured image – www.motogp.com