After winning the Moto3™ title in 2015 with Danny Kent on Honda machinery, 2016 race winners Leopard Racing will contest the 2017 Moto3™ world championship aiming high - and are set to return to Japanese manufacturer Honda once again. Current rider and rookie race winner Joan Mir will remain in the squad, to be joined by 2015 Indianapolis GP winner Livio Loi as the team look to consolidate their position as a frontrunner in the class once again.
Joan Mir: "I am very pleased with the renewal with Leopard Racing. I want to thank the whole team for the trust they have placed in me and my abilities. In the next season we will continue to work together for an important goal and we will try to give the team the results they deserve."
Livio Loi: "I'm very very very happy! For me, going to the Leopard Racing Team is like a dream come true. This is a team that won the Moto3 World Championship last year. We can all see the high degree of professionalism in Leopard. Together we will do a great job next year! I will give everything I have to the end of the season. After Valencia will be where a new adventure begins for me."
Miodrag KOTUR, COO Leopard Racing: "We are very happy to embrace the partnership with Honda and replenish the combination with which we debuted and won the World Championship. This year Joan Mir has proved a winning rider, and we are confident that Livio Loi will do just as well with Leopard Racing. Along with Honda, we will give it all to put our riders in the best position to fight for the world title."
Tomonori SATO, HRC Manager of Race Operations Management Division: "We welcome back Team Leopard in the Honda Moto3 family. We will do our best to support them and thanks to their professional skills we are sure that their riders will achieve good results next year!”