VOL. 54 ISSUE 46 NOVEMBER 21, 2017 P27
LORIS BAZ BACK
TO WORLDSBK
L
oris Baz will return to the
WorldSBK Championship
after three years in MotoGP. The
Frenchman has signed a deal to
replace MV Agusta-bound Jordi
Torres in the Althea BMW Rac-
ing team, which will scale down
to a one-rider operation after it
was confirmed they will not be
renewing ties with 2017 rider
Raffaele De Rosa.
"I wanted to find the best
solution for my future and I
think I have found this in team
Althea. I have known Genesio
[Bevilacqua] for a long time, so
we talked, and to be honest,
it was very easy to come to an
agreement. I know the team is
strong—they won
the title with Carlos
Checa after all—and
I consider the proj-
ect a very interest-
ing one, also in light
of the changes to
the regulation. I'm
very happy with my decision. I
want to thank Genesio Bevilac-
qua and BMW, of course. I am
looking forward to getting out on
track with the S 1000 RR for the
first time during the upcoming
Jerez tests."
Baz last competed in WorldS-
BK in 2014, leaving the series
with two pole positions, 14 po-
dium finishes and two victories
for the Kawasaki Racing Team
alongside Tom Sykes, the rider
with whom he had a huge public
social media fight after the two
riders collided in Sepang, Ma-
laysia—an incident that ultimately
cost Sykes the 2014 WorldSBK
Championship. CN
PUIG IN LINE FOR REPSOL HONDA TOP JOB
S
paniard Alberto Puig is the man most likely to
replace the departing Livio Suppo as Team
Principle of Repsol Honda for 2018 and beyond.
Puig has been running the Asia and British
Talent Cup organizations for Dorna and is known
to be interested in making a return to the Mo-
toGP paddock. Puig's involvement with Honda
stretches back to the early 1990s during his
own racing career that saw him take two 500cc
Grand Prix wins—he was the first Spaniard to win
a 500cc Spanish Grand Prix in 1995—as
well as being Dani Pedrosa's agent be-
tween 2003 and 2013. Puig also helped
launch the careers of Casey Stoner
and Toni Elias. Honda Racing Corpora-
tion's general manager Tetsuhiro Kuwata
would not be drawn into speculation as
to who would replace Suppo at the head
of Repsol Honda, saying an announce-
ment would be made after the winter test
season. CN
Loriz Baz is back in WorldSBK—
watch out, Tom Sykes!
Alberto Puig wants back in MotoGP, and he
might just get the best job in the paddock.
