By Dean AdamsThe Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team is looking forward to welcoming back Leon Camier and Jake Gagne to WorldSBK action this weekend at round 5 of the 2018 FIM World Superbike Championship season at the revered Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy.
After both Camier and Gagne were unable to participate in the races at the previous round at Assen, both riders have made the trip to Imola with the aim of returning to action on their CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machines.
Camier has been cleared by medical staff to take part in tomorrow’s Free Practice 1 session and his condition will be reviewed after the session to determine whether he will continue for the rest of the race weekend. In case Camier is unable to continue after FP1, the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team has drafted in Australian rider Jason O’Halloran as a reserve rider for the remainder of the race weekend.
The good news on Gagne’s side of the garage is that the American rider has recovered from the injuries sustained at Assen and has been passed fit giving him the opportunity to race for at the iconic Imola circuit for the first time.
What awaits both riders on their return to action is the challenging Imola circuit which features a mix of slow chicanes, fast corners and elevation changes over 22 corners comprising its 4.936 kilometre length.
The first session of the Imola WorldSBK round is Free Practice 1 at 0945 local time (GMT +2) tomorrow with the twenty-three lap races starting at 1300 local time on Saturday and Sunday.
Leon Camier 2
It’s been a long road but my recovery has gone really well and the medical staff have given me the all clear to ride the bike tomorrow in Free Practice 1. In some ways, the recovery has been more tiring than doing normal race weekends as I’ve tried every kind of treatment to give myself the best chance of being ready for this round and hopefully all the hard work has paid off. I’m still in a bit of pain and although I’ve been given the all clear to participate in FP1, the real test will be going out on the bike so we’ll review my condition after the session to see if I can continue for the rest of the race weekend. I’ve had a good recovery to this point and made it to Imola, so I’ll see how I get on tomorrow!
– Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team
Jake Gagne 45
I’m really excited to get back on the bike for Imola. After a tough weekend at Assen it was a shame to miss the races but I feel fully fit and motivated to get back on the Fireblade. Imola is a new circuit for me but it looks to be unique and fun, I’ve been watching previous WorldSBK races to get an idea of the track and I look forward to getting practice underway. I’m sure we’ll be able to make some good progress again this weekend!
