British racer, Leon Haslam, will make a return to the World Superbike (WSBK) stage this 2022 with Pedercini Kawasaki, but not full-time, unfortunately. After failing to secure a deal with the team, Haslam will instead get to compete in four wildcard rounds with the team.
Haslam is now with British Superbike outfit, Lee Hardy Racing which is now called VisionTrack Kawasaki. The British racer’s going to return to the world stage, however, by round four in June 2022. Haslam will mount his comeback in Misano, and all of his four wildcard rounds will be on European race tracks. Other than Misano, Haslam will be competing on Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic, Portimao, and his home track: Donington Park.
He will be saddling up on Pedercini’s Kawasaki ZX-10RR for all four rounds, and on top of the WSBK rounds, he will also be contesting the Suzuka Eight Hours for Kawasaki with the hope to bring home the second time around for the brand. In previous years, Haslam raced for Honda in the endurance event, managing to bag two wins for the brand making for a total of three endurance event wins spanning two manufacturers.
Haslam and Pedercini Kawasaki are familiar with each other and the two entities have worked together before, like in the second race of the 2016 Superbike World Championship finishing in fifth place with the team.
With 313 races and a total of 45 podiums in his portfolio between 2003 to 2021, Haslam is one of the more experienced riders out there. With his experience, he managed to bag five wins and race for six manufacturers which include Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki.
Haslam is expected to do particularly well on his home track, Donington Park. The 38-year old is excited to ride once more for Pedercini, and is hoping for the best when it comes to his wildcard appearances for the 2022 WSBK season. While the wildcard events are something to look forward to and be excited about, Haslam is still focused on the British Superbike Championship with VisionTrack Kawasaki.
