Former WorldSSP champion Lucas Mahias has been confirmed with the Puccetti Kawasaki team for the 2019 season.

Mahias, who won the title with Yamaha in 2017, will ride alongside Hikari Okobu who remains in place from last season.

“I’m very happy to be a part of team Kawasaki Puccetti Racing. After having spent many years with the same manufacturer, I needed new motivation and couldn’t have ended up in a better place, considering that Kawasaki and team Puccetti are as keen as I am to win the world title," said Mahias.

"During the Jerez tests, I was reminded of my previous battles with Sofuoglu and now that I’ve ridden the Ninja ZX-6R, I understand why Kenan was so competitive. The bike already performs well, but we still have a lot of work to do with many things to test.

"I cannot wait to get back on track for testing at Jerez and Portimao, to continue our set up work in order to be ready for Phillip Island."