WSBK: Cavalieri to Replace Melandri at Barni Racing

Samuele Cavalieri will replace Marco Melandri at the Barni Racing Team for the remainder of the 2020 season.

The Italian rider collected previous WorldSBK experience when he wildcarded for Motocorsa Racing at the Riviera Di Rimini Round in 2019. He scored points on his debut with two 13^th place finishes at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

Cavalieri currently competes in the Italian Superbike championship for Barni Racing aboard a Ducati, making him an obvious option for the WorldSBK outfit. At present, he sits second in the table standings with two runner-up finishes and a pole position to his name.

The 23-year-old outlined his ambitions for his WorldSBK return saying:

“I am very happy with this opportunity and first of all I want to thank “Barni” and his team. My goal is to gain experience, I will be among great riders and I will have to learn from everyone. Work with method is the key point. I’ve never be on the saddle of this bike and I want to take one step at a time, without setting goals. I also want to thank all the people who have accompanied me so far, my family and my sponsors, I hope I can give them the satisfaction they deserve.”

Samuele Cavalieri

Cavalieri replaces Marco Melandri who himself came to Barni Racing as a substitute when the team split with the injured Leon Camier ahead of the Spanish Round. The Italian struggled to impress at his return from retirement and managed just two top 10 finishes in 12 starts.

Despite admitting that it was a hard choice, Melandri confessed that his initial enthusiasm died out race after due to his riding style not fitting the Ducati Panigale V4 R and he found no reason to go on in these conditions.

Nevertheless, Melandri stated to have no regrets about his short comeback, thanking the team and wishing them good luck for the future.

Having decided to stand down for the final three rounds of 2020, the 38-year-old heads back into retirement and affirmed that giving space to a gritty and hungry rider is the right choice.

Team Principal Marco Barnabo commented on the changed situation:

“I want to thank Marco Melandri, he faced this challenge with commitment and great enthusiasm, but the results were not up to expectations. Our relationship has always been of great esteem, analysing the situation with frankness we decided that the right choice was to give a young rider the chance to race in the World Superbike Championship. Samuele is doing very well in the CIV, we know his potential well and he deserves this opportunity.”

Marco Barnabo