Leon Morris to race Panigale in National Superstock

Ducati 848 Challenge champion Leon Morris steps up to National Superstock with a Hirebase-backed Ducati 1199 Panigale run by Coventry-based John Hackett’s JHP Racing team.

Morris said: “This is a dream ride; racing a Ducati with JHP Racing is a real privilege. John and the team always put the best package together so I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity. I’m raring to go and looking forward to pre-season testing.

Everybody is talking about this new Ducati and with so much interest I want to do the best I can for the team and Ducati.”

Eager to stay at the forefront of Ducati development, JHP will soon embark on a testing schedule with Panigale.

JHP Racing’s chief technician Rick Hackett commented, “We’ve worked with Ducati for many years but this really is a milestone moment, the 1199 Panigale is the most technically advanced production bike Ducati have built to date, so to play a major role in its racing debut is a proud moment for us”.

The JHP Racing team will also be returning to the Ducati 848 Challenge Championship in 2012 with Darren Fry, and, having won two consecutive championship titles in 2010 and 2011 in this ultra-competitive series, they will be looking to make it three in a row.

Fry said: “2011 was a tough year for me carrying an injury from the start of the season. I’m fully fit again now and ready for the 2012 season. I’m more motivated than ever to try and regain the title, there is a lot of fast new riders in the series this year so it’s not going to be easy, but I’m prepared to give it my all.”

The JHP Racing team is housed within the impressive Ducati Coventry dealership, a premier UK motorcycle dealership with a large stock of new and used Ducati motorcycles, the largest Ducati service centre in the UK, and the country’s largest stockist of Ducati parts and accessories.