Racing: KTM to race in 2010 Australian Superbike Championship

After dipping its toe into the domestic road racing scene in 2009, KTM has now gone the whole hog by announcing it'll compete in the 2010 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK).

KTM Australia has formed a partnership with the Evolution Sports Group (ESG) for its offensive, with Victorian Shannon Johnson to be the sole rider on the team's RC8R V-twin superbike.

Johnson, the 2002 Australian supersport champion, rode the KTM in this year's Formula Xtreme series, winning the Pro Twins and Formula Oz classes, in addition to his commitments for ESG in the Australian supersport title.

"I'm really very excited about this joint venture with KTM and ESG," said Johnson. "For me as a rider I have the best of both worlds, not only am I continuing a relationship on a motorcycle I enjoy immensely, I'm also doing the same with my technical crew from ESG.

"Furthermore, Rob Twyerould who was also a big part of the team this year, will also contribute to the technical guidance required on behalf of KTM for the 1190 RC8 R set-up, which I personally believe is invaluable."

KTM General Manager, Australia Jeff Leisk said about the new deal: "We had tremendous success with Shannon racing on the KTM 1190 RC8 R this year… and with the support of ESG, we feel we can further develop the bike and Shannon's ability on the race track."

Johnson's 2010 racebikes will be built by the KTM factory, and will arrive in plenty of time for a full pre-season.

KTM was an official entrant in the 2009 IDM (German) superbike title, with Stefan Nebel finishing second.

Following the official withdrawal of Kawasaki and Yamaha from ASBK - leaving Suzuki as the only Japanese marque with a distributor-backed interest -- KTM's announcement is a boost for the beleaguered championship, and there could be more good news on the way if Motologic, the Melbourne-based tuning emporium which guided Glenn Allerton to the 2008 superbike title, can finalise a deal to race Ducatis in 2010.

There are also strong rumours that another European manufacturer may be also joining the superbike ranks as part of the new guard.

The 2010 ASBK will be held over eight rounds, with four in conjunction with the V8 Supercars.  The season starts on February 26-28 at Phillip Island as an undercard for the world superbike title.