Jonathan Rea working to find new seat for Kyle Ryde

Jonathan Rea is working to salvage the 2016 season for young British racer Kyle Ryde after his World Supersport team announced earlier this week they’d be withdrawing from the series without any prior warning.

The reigning World Superbike Champion took 18-year-old Ryde under his wing in a managerial role this season and is now working to find a new seat for the talented youngster after the Team Ranieri Med – SC Racing squad announced their shock decision earlier this week.

“We didn’t know anything was wrong until we got an email from the team on Monday morning saying they were withdrawing from the series,” Rea told MCN.

“It was a difficult start to the year for both Kyle and the team and a big learning curve. He had a big crash at Phillip Island and it’s a shame for this to happen now because he’s just got to the stage where he’s fighting fit again and step by step things were getting better. We’d sat down with the team and made a plan for the next few races so it’s just a shock really.”

Since finding out, Rea has spoken to a number of teams on behalf of Ryde and others have been in contact after the news broke earlier today, with the two options looking likely to be a World Supersport or British Superbike seat.

“The way we’re looking at it now is that every cloud has a silver lining and we’re working hard to find something for the rest of the year. There’s at least one option in World Supersport but we’ll need some financial backing and over the next 48 hours we’ll be out looking for that, wherever it can come from.

“Since the news came out today Kyle has also been contacted by some British Superbike teams so that’s also an option. At this time of year it is difficult as a lot of options involve either replacing an injured rider or a team putting an extra bike on the grid, neither of which is great at this point in the year as team’s have their budgets set.

“At this stage in his career, Kyle is a rough diamond who needs the right people around him to make it work, so hopefully wherever he goes he’ll have that. He’s a great young talent and deserves this chance.”