TALENTED Italian rider Luca Marconi will step up to the class-leading PTR Honda team in the World Supersport Championship and aims to become a serious contender in 2013. A previous best of 11th at Aragon in Spain shows the 23-year-old from Rimini in Italy has good speed and he is expecting much stronger results on the competitive PTR Honda, calling upon his two-years experience in the Supersport class. Marconi, a former European mini-bikes Champion and 125GP rider, has talent in abundance and is one of Italy’s brightest stars. He is looking to fast track his career with PTR’s support. PTR will be announcing its full 2013 line-up shortly and Marconi is the first name on the team sheet. He will join the team at European tests in January before travelling to another test at Phillip Island in Australia in February, ahead of the opening round at the same circuit. Luca Marconi: “I am very happy to be riding what is widely accepted as the best bike in the World Supersport Championship – the PTR Honda. 2013 will be a big year for me and I want to be challenging in the points at every race and to see how far I can go. It will not be easy but I am happy with my choice of team and excited that together we can achieve my best ever results.” Simon Buckmaster, PTR Honda Team Manager: “Luca is an under-rated young talent from Italy that we welcome into our PTR team. The strength of our team and motorcycles will let him shine and show his true potential.” For more information on PTR or to buy the best motorcycle performance accessories, visit www.performancetechnicalracing.co.uk. For more information on Luca Marconi visit: http://www.lucamarconi.it.