Haslam joins factory Alstare Suzuki team in 2010

As exclusively revealed by MCN on Wednesday, Leon Haslam will sign a deal later this week to ride for the factory Alstare Suzuki squad in 2010. During 2009 Haslam has defied the odds by running at the front of WSB onboard his privateer Stiggy Honda competing against a host of full factory teams.

With just one round remaining Haslam holds sixth in the title standings with three podiums to his credit and it is these results that made him a target for Suzuki.

Since mid way through the season, team owner Francis Batta made no secret of his desire to sign Haslam in an effort to turn around the fortunes of his full factory squad.

Speaking to MCN, Haslam said: “It’s a factory bike straight out of Japan and it’s a package to win on. The team have had a couple of disappointing seasons and they can’t afford another one. It’s the 25th anniversary of the GSXR and they want to be winning.”

Earlier this week, Haslam’s current Stiggy Honda team announced that they wouldn’t be working together in 2010. Despite a highly successful partnership, team boss Johan Stigefelt is unable to confirm his plans for next season and revealed that he did not want to stand in the way of Haslam’s career.