Double change at MIE Honda as Tarran Mackenzie replacement revealed

MIE Honda has announced the replacement for Tarran Mackenzie as the team will take on two new riders for the UK WorldSBK at Donington with Tito Rabat and Ivo Lopes joining the satellite Honda squad.

Tito Rabat, who atarted the season with Motoxracing Yamaha but was replaced by Michael Ruben Rinaldi for the recent race at Misano, took part in the Balaton Park test with the MIE team; making him an expected arrival in the Petronas-backed squad in-place of Tarran Mackenzie whose departure from the team was announced after the Emilia-Romagna Round.

It will be the 2014 Moto2 World Champion’s first time racing in World Superbike aboard a Honda, but he has previous competitive experience on a Fireblade having raced one in ESBK.

“After sitting out the Misano round, I’m definitely going into the Donington round highly motivated to do well,” said Rabat.

“This will be the first time that I’ll be riding the Honda [World] Superbike and working with the team, without any preparation or test time, so it won’t be easy of course.

“But it is a great opportunity and I’ll be doing my best to make the most of it. The goal will be to try and improve as much as we can session by session; we’ll see what we can do.

“I want to thank the Petronas MIE Racing Honda Team for the opportunity and hope I’m up to the task.”

Ivo Lopes will fill in for Zaqhwan Zaidi on a temporary basis at the UK Round as Zaidi is competing in the Asia Road Racing Championship at Motegi.

The Portuguese rider previously raced for MIE, intermittently, in 2024, taking two points finishes in his home round at Estoril, but he has no experience of Donington.

“First of all, a big thanks to the team for giving me another opportunity to compete in the World Championship,” Lopes said.

“As for Donington, I don’t know the track at all, so we need to understand it as quickly as possible.

“The goal is to interpret the track effectively, help the team as much as I can and do as well as I can.

“I know it will be tough as I don’t know the circuit but I’m ready to work hard; we’ll see what I can do.”