The test in Aragon with Jonathan Rea’s ZX-10RR was not enough to convince Adrian Huertas to continue with the Kawasaki project. The Spaniard has chosen to focus on Ducati, which is dominating (also) in Superbike and today announced the officiality of the agreement which will see him linked to the Borgo Panigale manufacturer for next year in the Supersport world championship.
Huertas will wear the colors of the Aruba.it Racing WSSP team and will thus replace Nicolò Bulega, who will make his Superbike debut next year in the official team alongside Alvaro Bautista. Born in 2003, the Spaniard made his debut in the Supersport300 world championship at just 16 years old, winning the title in his second year in the cadet class of production derivatives, with 6 victories, 8 podiums and 16 races disputed.
In 2022 he then moved on to the Supersport world championship, where he showed great growth enough to arouse the interest of Kawasaki with a view to the future. Huertas was thus invited to test Jonathan Rea’s ZX-10RR in the latest tests carried out in Aragon. Even on that occasion, making his debut on a Superbike, the Spaniard showed himself to be decidedly competitive enough to end the day close to the leaders.
However, Kawasaki did not convince Huertas, who then decided to sign with Ducati. The rumor of his arrival at the Borgo Panigale manufacturer had already begun to circulate at the end of July, when the Superbike raced in Most. Kawasaki’s attempts to retain the rider were to no avail, as he will race on the Aruba team’s Panigale V2 from 2024.
“I am really very happy to have reached this agreement,” says Huertas. “Racing for the Aruba.it Racing team is a great privilege for me. I have one goal: to be the first rider to win the World Championship in all three categories. I have already succeeded in the SuperSport 300 and I believe that the Aruba.it Racing team is certainly the best choice to continue to believe in this goal. Furthermore, becoming a Ducati rider is a dream come true for me. Since I was little I have always supported Ducati and now I will have the chance to race with the Panigale V2. For this I want to thank my family, my friends, my sponsors, all those who supported me even in the most difficult moments. And obviously a big thank you to Aruba.it Racing and Feel Racing for giving me this chance.”
Stefano Cecconi, Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Team Principal, states: “We enthusiastically welcome Adrian Huertas. We place great trust in his talent and we are certain that he can give us great satisfaction. We liked the determination with which he accepted our proposal and this underlines the quality of the project that began two years ago when, together with Feel Racing, we decided to embark on the adventure of the Supersport World Championship. We consider the Aruba.it Racing WSSP team a sort of “cantera” through which young riders can grow who can then continue their careers in the official WorldSBK team, just as happened to Nicolò Bulega who will be riding next season to the Ducati Panigale V4R. Adrian is unanimously considered one of the best emerging riders in the WorldSBK paddock and we expect him to continue to grow and achieve important results.”
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