John McGuinness and Martin Jessopp will be teammates at this year’s Macau GP after signing for the Be Wiser Ducati team.
The duo will compete on factory-backed Be Wiser Ducati Panigale R machines for the Paul Bird Motorsport outfit. Be Wiser Ducati are the reigning champions, following Glenn Irwin’s victory at the Macau GP in 2017. Last year’s winner announced following that victory that he had no plans to return to the historic street racing event.
McGuinness took victory for Paul Bird’s team in Macau back in 2001 and has recently returned from injury to take a win at the Classic TT. The 46-year-old broke his back, leg and ribs in a crash at the 2017 North West 200. He has achieved 23 Isle of Man TT victories in his career so far, with an overall tally of 46 podiums.
Meanwhile, Jessopp took his debut win at this year’s North West 200 as well as posting a string of top seven results at the 2018 Isle of Man TT. The 32-year-old was runner-up at the Macau GP in 2011, 2012 and 2015. In last year’s race, Jessopp would narrowly miss out on a podium finish on his Riders Motorcycles BMW – taking fourth spot.
The 52nd Edition of the Macau GP takes place between November 15 and 18.