MLav Racing announces Vicente Perez replacement for Dutch TT

MLav Racing has announced the replacement for the injured Vicente Perez for this weekend’s Dutch TT, with a new Italian rider set to debut in the World Championship.

Perez was brought into the MLav team for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello last weekend to replace Marcos Uriarte, who had moved to the MTA team to fill in for Matteo Bertelle, who has been out of action since an accident between the Grand Prix of the Americas and the Qatar Grand Prix back in April.

Perez himself was caught up in a crash in the Moto3 race at Mugello last Sunday while replacing Uriarte, an incident which also involved Rooche Moodley and Riccardo Rossi, and suffered a broken right scaphoid and a fractured vertebra. 

The Spanish rider’s recovery time is yet to be determined, but he will not be able to race this weekend at Assen.

As a result, MLav has dipped into the JuniorGP class and called on Italy’s Leonardo Abruzzo to replace Perez this weekend.

Abruzzo actually finished second to Perez in the 2023 CIV Moto3 championship, and is racing for the MTA Junior Team in JuniorGP this year.

There, Abruzzo, who turned 18 in February, has scored a best result of 12th in the first race at Jerez back at the beginning of June.

It will be Abruzzo’s debut in the World Championship, and he will partner MLav’s full-time rider Eddie O’Shea, who is yet to score in what is his first full season of grand prix racing.