Leon Camier with Honda in 2018 WorldSBK
One of the UK’s most respected riders, Leon Camier, will fill the vacancy left by the late Nicky Hayden on the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, Honda reported Thursday.
Camier, 31, of Ashford, Kent, in the UK, will pilot the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 alongside Stefan Bradl.
Camier raced in the British Supersport Championship from 2004-2006, claiming the title in 2005 on a Honda CBR600RR. He then raced British Superbike for three years, winning the title in 2009 on a Yamaha YZF-R1.
In 2009, he also began racing for Aprilia in World Superbike. He has competed on Aprilia RSV4, Suzuki GSX-R, BMW S1000RR and MV Agusta F4 machinery. Camier spent the last three years of WorldSBK with MV Agusta, claiming a best of eight overall last season.
Camier will join the Honda World SBK team at the end of the current season to start the winter testing program on the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2.
Marco Chini, Honda’s WorldSBK Operations Manager, says: “We’re extremely happy to have Leon on board for the upcoming WorldSBK season. He’s a great talent and an extremely professional rider, so I’m sure it will be a pleasure to work with him.
“We’re confident that his expertise will help us raise the performance of the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 to a whole new level so we’re looking forward to the new challenge. Right now, however, there’s still a season to complete, so we are fully concentrated on the remaining rounds in order to improve our package and finish the year on a high note.”