Shinichi Ito to ride for Pramac d'Antin in Japan

Pramac d'Antin have announced that Japanese rider Shinichi Ito will ride alongside Alex Barros for the team this weekend at the A-Style Grand Prix of Japan.

The 40 year-old rider – who has extensive tyre testing experience with Bridgestone – is a temporary replacement for outgoing German competitor Alex Hofmann, who left the d'Antin set up earlier this week.

This is not the first time Ito has stepped in to race on Bridgestone-shod Ducati machinery, having replaced the then injured Loris Capirossi for the Turkish Grand Prix in 2005.

A former Japanese Superbike champion, Ito began competing in 500cc World Championship races in 1988 and scored pole position at the German Grand Prix in 1993.

More recently he has focussed on his job of developing race compounds with Bridgestone, making a significant contribution to their current success story, and earlier this year he participated in the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours event.

Alongside Barros in the Pramac d'Antin pit-box, with Ito onboard for this weekend's Motegi adventure the team will have a riding partnership with a combined age of 76.