ATTNANG-PUCHHEIM. Maximilian Kofler remains in the Supersport World Championship. The 22-year-old from Attnang-Puchheim will start next season in the colors of the Italian team D34G Racing on a Ducati Panigale V2 and will have an Australian team-mate in Oliver Bayliss. The two young debutants of the past World Championship are new to the team of former Superbike rider Davide Giugliano.
“I am very happy that I can continue to compete in the Supersport class with Davide. It’s a big sign of trust that he’s giving me a seat on one of his bikes and it’s a great opportunity following a difficult first year,” reports the young Upper Austrian, who will contest nine of the twelve rounds for the team.
“I will ride the WorldSSP Challenge, which is determined in the European rounds. The motorcycles are completely identical to the World Championship and our results are also included in the World Championship,” explained Kofler, who scored his first points in Portimao last year.
With the Australian Bayliss, son of multiple Superbike World Champion and Grand Prix winner Troy, he not only gets a prominent teammate, but also one whom he knows well. “We both made our debut in World Supersport this year and we’re good friends too. We know each other and therefore the atmosphere in the team will certainly be good and motivate us to perform well,” the young Upper Austrian continued.
His new team boss also brings a lot of experience on the sporting side. The 33-year-old Italian Giugliano was himself a pilot in the Superbike World Championship for many years and has been on the podium several times, including as a Ducati works rider.
“Both Oli and Max did a good job on the Ducati last season and we look forward to working with them,” said the Italian. Kofler is already looking forward to the first joint test drives in January: “With Davide’s knowledge and the skills of his crew, we want to do a good job in 2023. I can’t wait to get started.”
After the Christmas holidays, Kofler will head to Italy, where he will work with the team on the training machine provided by Ducati Austria before testing in Jerez, Spain at the end of January. The season starts for the Upper Austrian in Assen at the end of April, following the two overseas rounds in Australia and Indonesia.
