For the first time in the history of WSBK a Ukraine-backed team will be participating in World Supersport. Step Racing Team, which is building the Crimea Grand Prix racing track, reached agreement earlier this year with Gino Rea, the management and technicians of Intermoto for the unified group to transfer across to the new team. “This is a really exciting prospect. Having a backer as enthusiastic as this means a great deal and the Crimea Grand Prix will be a fantastic facility.” Gino Rea commented. “It’s a new team name but I still have exactly the same crew on my side of the garage, so for me I get to keep the consistency and knowledge built up over earlier years. Our potential is already much higher than last year so I want to bring Step Racing Team strong results; the first race in Australia is just around the corner now. I’ve improved both physically and mentally so I can’t wait. “ The presence of British World Supersport sensation Gino Rea and Ukrainian rider Vladimir Ivanov in Step Racing Team’s World Supersport line-up is an exciting development for Step Racing Team. Anatoly Kuchmin, the co-owner of Step Racing Team and Crimea Grand Prix, and who last year was the main financial backer of Gresini Racing’s Moto 2 championship glory commented: “We are passionate about motorbike racing and are very excited to have Gino Rea on our team. We are backing Gino 100% with the right technical and supportive environment for him to focus on winning. We are building a state of the art racing circuit near the sunny beaches of Yevpatoria in Crimea, Ukraine. Work on the Crimea Grand Prix circuit is proceeding on schedule and we hope to invite all fans of motorbike racing to this new venue in the near future – please watch this space”. The first round of the FIM World Supersport Championship takes place at Phillip Island, Australia on February 27th. www.ginorea.com www.crimeagp.com