Current MotoAmerica Mission King of The Baggers and Stock 1000 Champion, Hayden Gillim, will make his WorldSBK debut for the Petronas MIE Racing Honda outfit this weekend at Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic.
Gillim will replace former British Superbike Champion and current Petronas MIE Racing Honda rider, Tarran Mackenzie, who crashed heavily at his home round at Donington Park on Saturday, July 13.
Gillim’s appointment to the Petronas MIE Racing Honda team came as somewhat of a surprise, the Kentuckian receiving the call on Sunday morning, July 14, at Laguna Seca’s sixth round of the 2024 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
“I never thought something like this would ever happen for me, so my passport was expired,” Gillim said.
With new passports granted, Gillim and wife Summer arrived in Germany today.
“We flew straight to Chicago on Monday morning and got it (the passport) expedited,” Gillim said. “It will be pretty cool and I’m excited about it.”
In addition to learning a new racetrack and the Pirelli tires, Gillim will find a Honda CBR1000RR-R SP unlike the one he races in MotoAmerica Stock 1000.
“The bike is going to be quite a bit different,” Gillim said of Mackenzie’s Honda. “It’s going to have all the Superbike stuff on it… swingarms, triple clamps, electronics, and I’m sure the transmission is different. We’ll see. It’s also a new track for me and all that fun stuff.”
Gillim’s first time on track at Most will be Friday at 4:20 a.m. ET for Free Practice 1. World Superbike race one will take place on Saturday at 8 a.m. ET and Sunday’s race two will also be at 8 a.m. ET.
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