Pons Racing confirms Maverick Viñales and Luis Salom for 2014/2015
The Pons Racing Tuenti HP 40 Team have confirmed the signing of Moto3 rising stars and title contenders Maverick Viñales and Luis Salom to ride for their Moto2 squad in 2014 and 2015.
Viñales and Salom are currently battling each other in the Moto3 world championships in what has been a hugely enjoyable, season long struggle; Salom currently leading the title chase with a 26 point lead on 2nd place Viñales.
Both riders are known talents and hard workers and should be a good fit with the ambitious and competitive Tuenti HP 40 squad where they will be replacing the outgoing Pol Espargaro (moving up to MotoGP) and Tito Rabat (staying in Moto2 but shifting to the Marc VDS Racing Team).
Despite their youth, between them Viñales and Salom carry some great stats: between them they have 19 GP wins (Salom 11, Viñales 8) and 46 podiums (Salom 20, Viñales 26).
Signing for Pons shows the team’s commitment to pulling through talent to continue the strength of line-up they’ve had up to now and to keep sponsors and partners happy with the development of great talents and serious title contenders.
Maverick Viñales:
“Joining the Pons Team is a great privilege for me, and there’s a responsibility to deliver results like the riders who have gone through the team before me. It motivates me to work and hard and I believe I can become a good Moto2 rider, a category I think my riding can adapt well to. Right now I must concentrate on my fight for the Moto3 world championship. It will be an honour for me to move up to Moto2 and to work with the team with a clear objective of fighting for top honours in 2014.”
Luis Salom:
“For me it’s a great honour that Sito Pons gives me the opportunity to ride for his team in the demanding Moto2 category. From the beginning I’ve been clear that if a top Spanish team was willing to take a chance on me then they’d be my first choice. I am convinced that with Sito and his technical team I will be able to work to settle into the new class as quickly as possible, and I will put in every effort to meet the expectations that Pons Racing will have of me. For now I have to keep riding hard and aim to end this season a little better than last year.”
Sito Pons:
“It is an honour for me to announce that we are adding two great young talents to our team in Luis Salom and Maverick Viñales – they are both quick, ambitious, competitive and have a natural talent for riding. Working alongside them will fill me with satisfaction and I am convinced we can go on to be world champions in the Moto2 category, while for now we prioritise the rest of this season’s challenge with our current riders Pol Espargaro and Tito Rabat.”
Source: Tuenti HP 40 Pons Racing
