WorldSBK: Tito Rabat joins Puccetti Kawasaki

Tito Rabat will return to the WorldSBK grid in 2023 with the Puccetti Kawasaki team.

Tito Rabat makes his WorldSBK return in 2023 and will return to the Puccetti Kawasaki team. Rabat will replace Tom Sykes, who re-joins the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team as a replacement rider.

The 2014 Moto2 World Champion last rode for the team in 2022, where he would compete in one race weekend. Rabat also had a stint with the Puccetti team during the 2021 WorldSBK season.

Rabat spent the entire 2022 season in the Spanish Superbike Championship, racing onboard a Honda. He would claim the championship after winning two races and taking 12 podiums throughout the season. The 33-year-old would also make a one-off appearance in British Superbikes, racing for TAG Honda.

Rabat will spend the rest of the season with the Puccetti team and will also compete in MotoE. Currently, Rabat is in 11^th position in the standings, after a best finish of sixth in Le Mans.

The Spaniard has spent 18 years in the Grand Prix paddock, with great success in Moto2. Rabat has won a total of 13 races in his 18 years, taking the 2014 Moto2 title for Marc VDS. He would later move up to MotoGP with the Marc VDS squad before joining the Reale Avintia in 2018.

The Puccetti Kawasaki Racing Team has had a tough start to their 2023 season with Tom Sykes. Currently, the team is in 14^th position in the team standings after Sykes scored one point at Assen. Sykes retired for five of the first 10 races of the season before making the switch to BMW.

Discussing his return to WorldSBK and Puccetti Kawasaki, Rabat said: “I’m pleased to return to Team Puccetti and Kawasaki. This is a great opportunity for me to return to WorldSBK but also keep up the race pace because this year, I’m competing in MotoE™, where there are not so many races.

“I’ll try to make the most of this opportunity and help Manuel Puccetti’s team as they continue to develop their bike. I want to have fun of course, and give it my all, but also complete all the races in order to collect as much data as possible. See you all at Misano!”

Team Principal Manuel Puccetti added: “I’m pleased to announce the return of Tito Rabat to our team. In both 2021 and 2022, the Spaniard was tasked with standing in for an injured rider, which is never easy, and he raced without having the chance to test, so without knowing our bike. 

“Despite that, Tito always proved to be the consummate professional, with significant experience under his belt in both the Moto2™ and MotoGP™ Championships. It will be a pleasure for us to have him back in the team for their home round at Misano, where our goal will be to continue developing the bike and try to improve on the results scored thus far.”

Image credit: Puccetti Racing