Kurtis Roberts, son of Kenny and brother of Kenny Jr, will replace Max Neukirchner on a Pedercini Ducati at the upcoming Brands Hatch round of the 2006 Corona Extra Superbike World Championship.
Neukirchner and Pedercini have announced their spilt after a poor season that has seen the young German, a podium finisher with Klaffi Honda in 2005, take just nine points and miss the recent Brno round through injury.
His place at Brands on August 4-6 will now be taken by former AMA Superbike race winner and 2004 Proton KR MotoGP rider Kurtis. Depending on the Brands weekend, the American could keep the 999 RS seat for the remainder of the 2006 season.
"I am really pleased to have reached this agreement, and for the belief in us shown by the Roberts family," said team principal Lucio Pedercini. "We want to put Kurtis in the best possible situation, giving him professional support as he enters World Superbikes, which is very different from AMA. This partnership has lots of potential and could continue in the future."
