It was officially announced this morning that the 2015 Australian Superbike Champion ‘Mad’ Mike Jones will fly the flag for Australia in next year’s Superstock 1000 FIM Cup after signing a deal for Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Junior.
Jones, who this year finished fifth in the Australian Superbike Championship with 163-points to his name rode for the Desmosport Ducati team, which is co-owned by Ben Henry and the former three times World Superbike Champion, Troy Bayliss.
Jones sure has impressed a lot of people throughout the ASBK season. The 22-year-old snagged a pole position at Barbagallo Raceway, then held Yamaha Racing Team’s Wayne Maxwell at bay in the opening race over in the West by .307sec. He later finished third in race two which saw him pick up second place overall for the round, which he added to his other second place finish that came at the opening round of the championship at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
However the two big events for Jones this year which really put his name on everyone’s radar was the two wildcard MotoGP ‘guest appearances’ which saw him fill in for Spaniard Héctor Barberá at Avintia Racing Ducati during the Motul Grand Prix of Japan at the Twin Ring Motegi and the Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, where he scored one championship point.
Jones will team up with Italian rider, Michael Ruben Rinaldi.
“I am thrilled to take part in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup with the colours of Aruba.it Racing.,” said Jones in an official press release.
“For me it is a privilege to be able to compete in such a professional team, on a competitive bike as the Ducati Panigale R. I want to take this opportunity to improve my riding skills racing on new tracks and against high-level opponents. I cannot wait to begin this new adventure and I will do my best to reciprocate the trust obtaining some good results.”
Jones is of course no stranger to racing in Europe. In 2013 Jones rode for the Agro-On Racedays Honda in the Superstock 600 FIM European Championship. However it was very brief as he departed the team mid-season due to difficulties with the team.
With Jones hightailing the country, it has left the door open for a ride at Desmosport Ducati, and this afternoon it was announced that fellow Queenslander Callum Spriggs would fill that vacant seat.
Spriggs, also twenty-two finished fourth in this year’s Australian Supersport Championship with the Cube Racing team, which is headed by Henry.
“I’m really looking forward to this great opportunity to race with the Desmosport Ducati team,” Spriggs told AMCN.
“To think I will make my Superbike debut year on a factory Ducati is a bit surreal to be honest. However I’m not going to get to ahead of myself as I know it will be a tough task to go up against the likes of Troy [Herfoss] and Wayne [Maxwell].”
“We would like to welcome Callum Spriggs to the DesmoSport Ducati squad,” said Bayliss via social media.
“Callum will bring with him his quite, humble, hardworking and never give in attitude. Ben and I are looking forward to bringing Cal to the front of the ASBK in 2017.”
Spriggs will use the opening round of the ASBK series at Phillip Island next year at the end of February as a ‘gauge’ as where he is in regards to lap times and overall race pace.
However Spriggs’s goal is to be able to finish in the top five in the overall positions and fight for podium finishes towards the end of the year.
“Top five is what I’m aiming for. I know it won’t be easy as there are a lot of talented riders who I will be up against next year. However I’m racing for a great team and will have a lot of support around me, so we’ll just take round by round and see what plays out,” concluded Spriggs.
Words and Images – Russell Colvin
