Aspar Ducati rider Yonny Hernandez will return to the Moto2 World Championship for the 2017 season with the AGR Kalex team, it has been confirmed.
The Colombian last raced in the intermediate class in 2011, finishing the season 19th in the standings with 43 points on a Blusens-STX FTR. Hernandez moved up to MotoGP with the Avintia team the following year before joining PBM, and later Pramac, for 2013.
Hernandez remained with the Pramac Ducati squad for 2014 and 2015, but relatively average results saw him demoted to the Aspar team for this season where results have been few and far between. With three races still to go in 2016, Hernandez is 22nd in the standings on just 17 points.
With teammate Eugene Laverty departing next year for the World Superbike Championship with the Milwaukee Aprilia team, Hernandez’ place at Aspar looked secure. But, financial issues with the team and a lack of strong results forced the Spanish outfit to look elsewhere, Aspar announcing yesterday (October 18) that Karel Abraham would be replacing Hernandez next year.
“I’m very grateful and looking forward to be part of this team and this new project. I hope I will be able to fight to be on top. This is a new challenge for me, I hope things go well and we are able to do a good job together,” said Hernandez.
The Colombian rider isn’t the first premier class competitor to make the step down from MotoGP. Most recently, 2006 Portuguese Grand Prix winner Toni Elias moved from MotoGP to Moto2 in 2010 and won the world championship. However, Elias’ MotoGP return with LCR only lasted a season in 2011, his only other appearances as a replacement rider in 2012 and 2015.
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