Steven Odendaal returns to the FIM Supersport Championship this weekend for the Prosecco DOC Czech Round.
The South African will take part in Most and returns as a wildcard replacing Alessandro Zetti at Kallio Racing.
Odendaal was a fixture in the FIM Supersport World Championship in the 2021 season. Despite finishing fifth and second in the championship standings, he declined to join for the 2022 season.
“I am very excited to be back in the world championship after some time. I’ve raced an SBK machine all year so it will take some getting used to sitting on a SuperSport machine, but I’m looking forward to it.” Odendaal said.
“I think Kallio Racing is a professional team and I look forward to meeting everyone.” Odendaal added.
Odendaal picked up 11 podiums and five wins in his two seasons in WorldSSP, all in 2021, as he finished runner-up to Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and one of his five wins came in Race 1 at Most, the venue where he is making his return.
Team Manager Vesa Kallio said: “It’s great to have Steven to ride our bike in Most. We have discussed this prospect on several occasions and now, as a result of multiple separate events, this is possible.
“We’ll head into the weekend without any pressure, and let’s see what results we’ll achieve.” he added.
The 29-year-old made a number of Moto2 World Championship appearances including a full season in 2013 with Team AGR Speed Up.
Odendaal captured the South African Super600 Championship in 2014 and 2015.
He finished fourth in 2015 and fifth in 2014 in the European FIM CEV Repsol Championship before winning the championship in Portimo, Portugal, two rounds before the season’s finale, with six wins and nine podium finishes in 11 races.
