Leon Haslam set to dovetail BSB commitments with WorldSBK wildcards
Leon Haslam reveals he is closing on a deal that will see him participate in selected WorldSBK rounds in 2022, most likely with the Pedercini Kawasaki team
Leon Haslam looks set to retain a presence on the WorldSBK Championship grid in 2022 after hinting at a handful of wildcard outings on Kawasaki machinery.
The experienced Briton - a WorldSBK runner-up for Suzuki in 2010 - will this season return to the British Superbike Championship (BSB) he dominated in 2018 after landing a deal to ride the privateer Lee Hardy Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
The agreement with Lee Hardy Racing comes after a last minute attempt to retain his place on the WorldSBK grid with Pedercini Kawasaki fell through, prompting the Italian team to announce Loris Cresson in the 24th and last remaining seat on the 2022 WorldSBK grid.
However, in confirming the Belgian, eponymous team owner Lucio Pedercini hinted that the team will be prepared to enter a second ZX-10RR in selected rounds for a wildcard.
That rider will likely be Haslam with the 38-year old confirming to Speedweek that he has designs on making a few appearances on Kawasaki machinery.
“It's not done yet," Haslam said when asked by SPEEDWEEK.com. "But the plan is to do a few appearances in the Superbike World Championship and at other events with Kawasaki."
Haslam is no stranger to the odd WorldSBK showing while competing in BSB with a handful of outings between 2016 and 2018 competing for both the Pedercini and Puccetti satellite teams.
Moreover, Haslam - a five-time race winner at WorldSBK level - even scored a fine fifth place finish on a Pedercini Ninja at the 2016 Qatar season finale, the team’s best ever result with Kawasaki machinery since its switch from Ducati in 2008.
