Isaac Vinales returns to 2022 WorldSBK grid with Pedercini Kawasaki

Isaac Vinales will return to the WorldSBK grid for the upcoming third round of the 2022 season in Estoril after striking a deal to ride the Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki.

The Spaniard - brother of MotoGP race winner Maverick Vinales - contested his rookie WorldSBK campaign aboard Kawasaki ZX-10RR machinery as part of the Orelac Racing outfit in 2021, scoring a best finish of ninth place at the concluding Indonesian WorldSBK round in Mandalika.

However, he has been out of a ride since the start of the 2022 WorldSBK season after an initial deal to compete with the incoming Motoxracing Yamaha squad fell through and he was replaced in the team by Roberto Tamburini.

Vinales becomes the third rider in three rounds to occupy Pedercini’s sole Kawasaki entry after original full season signing Loris Cresson was dropped after the Aragon opener over a failure to provide promised funds for the ride.

He was replaced by Leon Haslam for Round 2 in Assen, the Briton - WorldSBK runner-up in 2010 - stepping in early having agreed to dovetail his 2022 commitments competing in the British Superbike Championship (BSB) with VisionTrack Kawasaki to make four guest appearances with Pedercini Kawasaki this year.

The Briton enjoyed a solid debut with the minnow outfit despite a lack of pre-weekend mileage, scoring its first points of the season in the final race of the weekend in the Netherlands with a 13th place finish.