Pasini in, Corsi out at Tasca Racing

Mattia Pasini will complete the remainder of the 2019 Moto2 world championship with Tasca Racing after replacing Simone Corsi.

The 12-time Grand Prix winner has been acting as star stand-in rider this year after missing out on a full-time ride. The Italian stepped in for Augusto Fernandez at Pons Racing at Circuit of the Americas, Jake Dixon at the Angel Nieto Team in Jerez and a three-round outing in place of Khairul Idham Pawi at the Petronas squad.

But from next month’s the Czech Republic round the 33-year-old will regain a full-time Moto2 entry with Tasca Racing Scuderia by replacing Corsi who has endured a tough campaign with just two points finishes from nine races.

With Pasini jumping on the team’s Kalex from Brno until the end of the year, he’s already targeting top five results at the upcoming races. Last year Pasini finished 10th in Brno before back-to-back fourth places at the Red Bull Ring and Misano.

“I am delighted to be able to run this second part of the season with Tasca Racing. The goal will be to finish in the top 5 at the next races,” Pasini said.

“Changing the rider was not an easy decision,” Enrico Tasca, team boss, said. “I would like to thank Simone for these two years together. But I am also delighted that a rider like Mattia joins us to finish this season, which can still bring us satisfaction.”

After finishing 14th in the Moto2 riders’ championship with Tasca Racing last year, Corsi had been expected to continue to climb the rankings with added consistency sticking with the same team and same chassis.

But the Italian rider has endured a high rate of DNFs, including three consecutive retirements across the Jerez, Le Mans and Mugello rounds, and has only taken points at the Americas and Catalan events.