Drivers and teams – Two more seasons at Avintia for Esteve Rabat –

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Two more seasons at Avintia for Esteve Rabat

Drivers and teams - Two more seasons at Avintia for Esteve Rabat -

The Spanish rider Esteve "Tito" Rabat – 19th in the provisional MotoGP – will continue his career until 2021 with the private team Reale Avintia, which is about to recover official motorcycles and a new sponsor.

The announcement of the renewal of Tito Rabat puts an end to persistent rumors of separation between the former world champion Moto2 (in 2014) and the Spanish structure led by Raul Romero. The n ° 53, a time announced in World Superbike next year, finally signs for two more years at Avintia, until the end of 2021.

  • MNC special file : 

The Barcelona driver will continue to team up with his current Czech teammate Karel Abraham, under contract with Avintia . Esteve Rabat, 30, joined the Ducati satellite team in 2018 after two first seasons in MotoGP with Honda Marc VDS. This first year was unfortunately cut short following a serious injury contracted during the tests of the .

For his second year at Avintia, Tito Rabat has so far not achieved any sparks: currently 19th with 14 points, the Spaniard is struggling to take the measure of his GP18 satellite with which he nevertheless signed an interesting 9th in Catalonia. His teammate Abraham being in the same situation (24th), Avintia is last in the team ranking behind KTM-Tech3…

Fairly critical of his bike and the support it receives before the summer break, Rabat did not hide its intention to consider other options if efforts were not made to correct the situation. Among its requests, access to equipment closer to official motorcycles as offered by Ducati to the Pramac team.

Factory motorcycles … But which brand ?

A few days before the resumption of hostilities in, this wish would be on the verge of being granted: "We will have factory equipment from 2020, a criterion of all importance to fight at the forefront in each race", announces the Iberian pilot, who naturally says himself "very happy to extend for two years".

"The MotoGP class is more competitive than ever, which means that in order to get good results we need to have all the elements in our possession," he said. "I would like to thank Raúl for his confidence, because it’s a complicated year. This being in the last races, we were in clear progress (11th in Germany, Editor’s note) and having my future secure will motivate me even more. ".

The team manager Raul Romero – on the right above – says he is just as satisfied to renew his driver and thus put an end to the "many rumors have circulated as well on Tito as on us: as much to say that things are now clear with this announcement . We are moving forward, always stronger ".

Romero is also looking forward to negotiating with a "major sponsor" who would bring more resources to his team. This upcoming signing with this new partner would make it possible in particular to obtain one or two official motorcycles and factory support, as Tito Rabat is already delighted..

 Drivers and teams - Two more seasons at Avintia for Esteve Rabat -

His boss expresses a little less certainty on this subject, just evoking avenues of work to recover factory motorcycles … Raul Romera also remains surprisingly discreet about the brand with which he is conducting his negotiations: never his current Ducati partner. is not cited !

"Our next step now is to obtain factory materials, like the other independent structures on this plateau," Romero reveals. "This is what we are currently working on, as well as this project with a major sponsor".

Suzuki ready to double down ?

If by any chance Avintia were to separate from the Bologna brand, two manufacturers could succeed Ducati: Aprilia and Suzuki, the others already having commitments with their satellite structures. With Noale’s crest already struggling with his official RS-GP, the Aprilia track seems moderately possible….

Suzuki could, however, decide to make a level playing field with its compatriots Honda and Yamaha, who each field four motorcycles. The decision would make sense as the GSX-RR is now very competitive, even better than the M1 in certain areas: Alex Rins has imposed himself on his handlebars in Texas and was seeking new exploits before falling in the Netherlands and in Germany.

It remains to be seen whether the Hamamatsu coat of arms really wants and the means to develop two additional motorcycles, and if Avintia is really able to align them. Not won since the Spanish team has the reputation of demanding a large budget from its own drivers…

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