Enea Bastianini is set to move to Leopard Racing for 2018, the team with whom Danny Kent took the 2015 Moto3™ crown and current leaders in the standings with Joan Mir.
Bastianini, from Rimini, is a Moto3™ race winner and was Rookie of the Year when he entered the Moto3™ World Championship. Last season he was runner up to eventual Champion Brad Binder.
Miodrag Kotur, COO Leopard Racing: "We are delighted to welcome Enea Bastianini into our operation. In the last few years, we have faced many opponents and always noted their strengths. Enea is a rider with a great talent and we are confident that he will be able to adapt quickly to our method of working for the world title."
Enea Bastianini, rider: "I'm delighted to have reached this deal for the 2018 season with the Leopard Racing Team, who have shown in a few years to be an inspirational team and remain at the top of the Moto3 category. I am also pleased to be able to continue my experience in the World Championship still riding an official Honda. Finally, I would like to thank my current team for the confidence they gave me, and I will do my utmost in the final part of the season to reach the pre-set goals."
Carlo Pernat, Bastianini’s manager: "I am very pleased that Enea has signed with a professional and winning team like Leopard Racing, who are now well established as a top team. It's a team where Enea will surely do well, because technically he knows how to work, the results are in him. I anticipate and hope in the future that they can achieve the common goal of taking the World Championship."