The all-new Moriwaki Althea Honda Team has unveiled its look for the 2019 FIM Motul Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) in Australia, as the season-opener looms this weekend at Phillip Island.

The factory-backed Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) outfit introduced key team members and riders Leon Camier and Ryuichi Kiyonari to national and international press at the launch in Australia, and presented its world championship contender, the Honda CBR1000RR SP2.

“It’s a real honour to be involved in this project with the support of Honda, and the experience of both Moriwaki and Althea,” Camier stated. “It’s all new of course, and that means we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I think we have good potential and I’m excited to see what we can do.

“It will be good to get out on track with our rivals this week and understand where we are. There is a lot to work on as I’ve said, the bike having been developed in a different championship, but we’re ready for the challenge. Our main goal is to improve race by race.”

Kiyonari added: “I am very excited to have this opportunity to return to world superbike and I thank Honda, Moriwaki and Althea for putting their trust in me. A lot has changed since I was last in the championship, in 2009, and I think the level is now a lot higher with many fast riders.

“Having said that, I have worked hard in recent years and hope I can continue to grow this season with my new bike and new team – I am very motivated and believe we can work together to achieve some good results.”

The squad will have one final opportunity to fine-tune its machine today and tomorrow at the Island for last official pre-season WorldSBK test.