The Leopard Racing team will contest next year’s Moto3 World Championship with Livio Loi and Joan Mir leading the charge, the German team also confirming their return to Honda machinery.
Leopard switched manufacturer to KTM for the 2016 season, but the move has proved a difficult one and success has been hard to come by. For 2017, the team will return to Honda power, a partnership that saw the team win the lightweight title with Britain’s Danny Kent last year.
The team will scale back their efforts to a two-rider outfit, with rookie talent Joan Mir extending his stay for another year. The Spaniard has been one of the stars of Moto3 in 2016 and is already a race-winner in his maiden season, becoming the first rider since the San Marino Grand Prix of 2015 to win a Moto3 race from pole position in Austria.
“I am very pleased with the renewal with Leopard Racing. I want to thank the whole team for the trust they have places in me and my abilities. In the next season we will continue to work together for an important goal and we will try to give the team the results they deserve,” stated Mir.
Joining Mir next season will be Belgian rider Livio Loi. The RW Racing rider has impressed in his time in Grand Prix racing, though has found himself in more than a few luckless situations. 2016 has been difficult for Loi, but the 2015 Indianapolis Grand Prix winner is more than capable of fighting at the sharp-end of the field and should prove to be a strong signing for the Leopard team.
“I’m very, very, very happy! For me, going to the Leopard Racing Team is like a dream come true. This is a team that won the Moto3 World Championship last year,” said Loi.
“We can all see the high degree of professionalism in Leopard. Together we will do a great job next year! I will give everything I have to the end of the season. After Valencia will be where a new adventure begins for me.”
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