Ten Kate Honda have announced that Martin Bauer will assume
Ryuichi Kiyonari's place in the team for this weekend's World Superbike round at Magny-Cours.
Although speculation had placed BSB rider Leon Haslam as an initial favourite to claim the seat, Ten Kate have instead chosen Bauer, a two-time winner of the German-based IDM Superbike Championship.
It'll be a big test for the Austrian as he has limited experience of the Magny-Cours circuit, while the regulations of the IDM series see him pilot a Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade with a Superstock-specification engine.
Nonetheless, Bauer was delighted to be getting the chance to impress on the world stage in place of Kiyonari, who has broken his collarbone.
“As you can imagine, I am very happy right now! I have a lot of work to do for this weekend but I am really excited about this opportunity. I was able to do about 15 laps during the Magny-Cours test last week, but this was my first visit to the circuit. In the IDM championship, we run 16.5 inch wheels and Superstock engine regulations, so I was very impressed with the Ten Kate Honda's horsepower.
“This is probably the best team in the whole paddock, so I cannot wait for the weekend and I hope to make the most of this chance.”
Bauer raced as a wild-card on a privateer Honda at the Lausitzring in 2007, but failed to score.
