Australia’s Luke Power to debut in WorldSSP in 2023 with Motozoo Racing
The 2022 FIM Supersport World Championship season has only just finished but eyes are already turning to 2023, and a new face will line up on next season’s grid. Australian rider Luke Power will link up with the Motozoo Racing by Puccetti team to ride Kawasaki machinery next season for his maiden campaign on the world stage.
The 17-year-old was fifth in 2022 in MotoAmerica in the Supersport championship where he took two podiums and a best result of second place. He took second at Alabama to round out his maiden WorldSSP campaign, while his first podium came at Road America towards the start of his campaign in the United States.
Discussing his move to WorldSSP, with his first round set to be his home round at Phillip Island, Power said: “I am really happy to be racing in the World Supersport Championship 2023 with Motozoo Racing by Puccetti. I would like to thank the team for this great opportunity. It will be truly incredible to be racing for Kawasaki, one of my favourite manufacturers since I was a kid and dreamed of starting racing in the World Championship. I’m so happy to have this chance and I thank Motozoo Racing, I’m sure we’ll achieve great results together!”
“I’m super happy to be in the World Championship, it has been a dream of mine for a really long time. I can’t wait to get testing underway and then of course, my first round at home at Phillip Island it will be awesome. MotoAmerica was a great championship, it gave me a good sense of what it was like to race away from home in a different country, against riders I have never raced against before so it was a good stepping stone I think. It was a great learning year and I made some good steps in my riding as well, to get two podiums and 5th in the Championship it was a really nice year.”
His career started in Australia as he came through the ranks in the ASBK – Australian Superbike championship, as well as competing in his local Victorian Road Race Championships. He took titles on a state level but, in 2020, he competed in the ASBK Supersport 300 championship and took fifth place, before graduating to ASBK Supersport for 2021 and then MotoAmerica in 2022.. In his first and final campaign in Australian Supersport, Power finished in sixth place. Power also has experience of the Road to MotoGP™ programme after he competed in the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup in 2019, taking a best result of ninth place.
“It has been brilliant being here this weekend amongst the team. I had a good feeling with the team from the first time we discussed us working together, since then I just feel really comfortable within the team. Watching the way that they work it has been cool to see the process and how it differs in the World Championship, it’s calm and eye opening to see how they work and definitely gives me confidence going into 2023.”
With the addition of Luke Power’s announcement to the FIM World Supersport grid, this now brings three Australian riders to the World Championship in 2023. Remy Gardner is set to make his debut in World Superbikes with the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team, and Oliver Bayliss in World Supersport.
“I grew up racing with Oli, so for sure it will be nice to share this experience with another Australian in the paddock and it will be cool to be racing in the same World Championship together. I’m definitely excited to get to know Oli more and take on the World stage together, and I hope we can both bring home so great results for Australia next year.” Power ended.
Motozoo Racing Team Manager, Fabio Uccelli, added: “I’m really happy that Luke has chosen to race with us next season. He is a very young but very fast rider, who has managed to prove his worth in every category in which he has competed. In America he had a great debut year, achieving two podium places in his very first season. Previously, in addition to excellent performances in Supersport and Supersport 300, he also brought home great results in the minor categories. I can’t wait to see him in action; he’s a very determined guy and I’m sure he will have no difficulty adapting to the new bike.
“Right now, we want to finalise the 2023 line-up as it is crucial for us to plan for next year well in advance, also because the season will start soon. This great finale to our season confirms that we are a very good team; performance by Tom Booth-Amos in these last races has shown that we can hold our own in the Supersport World Championship. The confirmation of direct support from Kawasaki Motor Europe is further proof of this. We are therefore looking forward very enthusiastically to the start of the 2023 season and we will be all ready with a competitive line-up, in terms of both riders, and team and bike.”
The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship will restart back in Australia, for the season opener Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round on the 24th to 26th February 2023.
