Stuart Easton will make his return to the MCE British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park after signing a deal to join the Lloyds British Moto Rapido Ducati team and will test at the Lincolnshire track tomorrow.

Easton has a long history with the Italian marque, winning two Supersport titles with the Paul Bird team on Bologna V-twins, and is looking forward to putting in some laps on the Panigale over the next two days.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back on a Ducati. I have a good history with them and hopefully I will be able to get comfortable on it straightaway. Obviously, the the way the bikes are have moved on quite a long way since I rode them in Supersport but a two-day test with an open pitane is the perfect way to start,” said Easton, speaking to bikesportnews.com.

“Historically, I have always suited them and this is a big opportunity to recover this year, which I need to do after struggling with the Yamaha.”

Easton wasn’t able to find a setup with the Tommy Hill R1 and thinks the way it needed to be ridden just didn’t suit the way he is able to go fast.

“If I knew the precise reason, then I would have been able to fix it. A lot of people said I should suit it but on paper it didn’t work for me, I didn’t have any feel for the front. The way the bike worked meant it steered better with less weight off the front, which didn’t give me any confidence because of that.”

Easton will still ride for Robin Croft’s SMT Bathams BMW at the Macau Grand Prix after pulling out of a Pirelli National Superstock 100 ride with them, and will test the big S1000RR in the near future.

“I’d like to thank the Robin and the guys at SMT/Bathams for giving me the chance to ride for them in Superstock and being so supportive wgen the Moto Rapido opportunity came along. I am really looking forward to testing the BMW before going out to Macau in November where we have got a really good chance of winning again.”