Eric Granado will race in the Superbike world championship as a starting rider for the first time in 2023, after having competed in the last two seasons in the Spanish Superbike and in the MotoE World Cup. Already in 2020 the Brazilian had raced in the production derivatives with satellite Honda at Estoril, scoring a point in the opening race and becoming the first Brazilian to score points since Alex Barros in 2006.
Granado’s past successes include four Superbike titles in his home country of Brazil and the 2017 CEV Moto2 crown. ‘next year. “I am absolutely delighted to welcome Eric to the MIE Racing Honda team,” commented team boss Midori Moriwaki.
“We got to work with Eric when he joined the team for the final round of the 2020 WorldSBK championship in Estoril. He finished in the top 15 in Race 1 and close to the points in Race 2 which was really impressive. His talent, his speed, his professionalism and, last but not least, his sunny attitude are core values for me and I believe he will fit perfectly into the structure of the MIE Racing Honda team.”
Granado will continue to race in MotoE next season, in addition to his commitments in the Superbike world championship. Speaking of his entry into the MIE team, the Brazilian said: “I think it’s a great opportunity for me and for my career, and I’m very confident that we will have a competitive bike and that we can work together with Honda to improve the bike.” .
“It will be a real challenge, fighting with fast and world-class riders, but I will try to learn a lot from them and do my best to get solid results every weekend, so that I can go to the end of the season with the knowledge that I have done a good job. I hope the Brazilian fans will support me; it has been many years since the last time a Brazilian driver raced in the world championship and I hope to represent my country at its best.”
MIE confirmed the departure of Leandro Mercado, who had been racing with the team since 2021, after a disappointing season that yielded just three points. Teammate Hafizh Syahrin fared slightly better, scoring 10 points with a best finish of 12th, but the team’s press release makes no reference to the Malaysian former MotoGP rider.
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