Loris Baz sets sights on WorldSBK return

Following official confirmation that he has lost his Avintia MotoGP ride, and with no alternative seats available, Loris Baz now has his sights set on a return to World Superbike in 2018.

Baz joined MotoGP with Forward Racing in 2015, switching to Avintia and Ducati from the following year.

The Frenchman is currently 15th in the world championship, on a two-year-old GP15 machine. His best MotoGP result is a fourth place, at Brno last season.

This is what Baz had to say about his future on Thursday at Aragon…

Loris, it's now official that you won't be in MotoGP next year…

Loris Baz: Yeah, that was the rumour for a few weeks. We've been working hard, everybody, to keep the place but the sporting side and results were not the only thing being taken into account for this. We tried our best and that's it.

You worked hard to get a seat here, how do you feel when you look back on the last 3 years…

Loris Baz: It's cool. I'm proud of what I've been doing because if you look back three years it wasn't easy for me to come here. Not many people at the beginning believed I could ride a MotoGP bike because of my size and everything. So I think I've shown I'm able to do it.

Apart from that when I look back three years, I don't even know how I was able to be so consistently on the podium in superbike. Because with the everything I've learnt here and how much I've improved my riding style, the race pace and all these things - I've improved a lot.

That's why I'm really proud of what I've done here in the last three years. The only sad point is I would have liked to have one year with a really good bike. I never had the chance to be able to fight in the top 5-6.

With the Open bike it was not easy, then I think last year the bike was good – Hector showed this, but I was injured most of the season – and this year the bike is good but cannot make the top 5-6.

But it's like this. I'm only 24 years old, even if I already have three years of Superbike and three years of MotoGP experience in my career. There is time to come back here I think.

Pere Riba said you made a lot of progress in your third year at Kawasaki in Superbike…

Loris Baz: Yeah, that's was the plan when I signed with Kawasaki. It was a contract of three-years at the beginning and I think the fourth year was the year when we were supposed to win, but I decided to come here. I don’t regret anything when I look back, I'm even more happy now and more sure I did the right choice than I was when I decided to change.

Now I'm just trying to find the best package, the best project, for next year.

What are the options in World Superbike?

Loris Baz: The winning bikes of this season are all taken, but we are trying to look for the best project. We are talking with a few teams, like Ten Kate. I think that would be something cool, to work with a team like them and bring them to win again because it was a winning team for many years.

Now they are struggling a little bit but I think I've been fast in superbike, know most of the tracks and the championship, also the tyres. Not much has changed since I left. So it could be a good thing. But we are also talking with other people and trying to find the best seat.

Maybe one of the Aprilias?

Loris Baz: I think most of the teams are still not sure what they will do, if they will have one or two bikes. It's always like this; first the MotoGP seats close and then the rest of the superbike teams, after the top two, start to look around. So we will see. I will be at Magny-Cours.

Have you looked at the WorldSBK regulations for next year? Is that a factor?

Loris Baz: A little bit because I think that it's the same as when I came into MotoGP with the Open class. Before it was three seconds away from everybody, but just with the same electronics on a bike that was two-years old it was possible to be one-second from the top.

We know the electronics are the main thing now with the bikes. So I think the superbike regulations will do the same as MotoGP. Ten years ago everybody was watching superbike because they said MotoGP was always the same guy winning. Now it's the same guy in superbike.

I think it's also because Johnny's one of the best, has the best bike and the best package. But I think they have to find a rule to make all the teams more competitive and that's in the interests of everybody. I think more bikes will be on the podium next year.

Would you consider a domestic Superbike series?

Loris Baz: I want to be in World Superbike because I've been there before and I've always said it's a really good championship, much better than they were saying in this paddock. Now that Dorna runs both championships, I think it changes a little bit the mindset of everybody.