Danny Kent confirms Speed Up departure

Former Moto3 world champion Danny Kent will not complete the final five Moto2 races of the current season, as Speed Up have dumped him following a year of lacklustre results.

Kent has endured a turbulent tenure in the intermediate class category, which first began with a failed transition with Tech3 in 2013. 

After winning the Moto3 title in '15 – Britain's first in any class since '77 – Kent returned to Moto2 with Kiefer Racing, but quit the team three races into the '17 campaign following yet another campaign of poor results. 

Making sporadic Moto2 and Moto3 appearances for the rest of '17, Kent penned a two-year deal for Speed Up for this year, but has once again failed to find success, with just eight points and two 12th-place finishes the highlight.

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Rumours began to mount of Speed Up breaking contract a year early, while it emerged during the Aragon weekend the Briton may not see out the season. 

Speaking to Eurosport during its coverage of the Assen British Superbike round, Kent confirmed his departure from Speed Up, while revealing he will be testing for the Halsall BSB team next week with a view to potentially racing in the series next year.

“I lost my [ride], I was given my P45 during the week,” he said. 

“So I came here this weekend to see what options there were for next year, I think it's been quite a successful trip. 

“Stuart [Higgs, BSB series director] as well, I've known Colin [Halsall, team owner] from a few years ago, so we've decided to make a test on Wednesday before Brands. 

“I think it's going in that direction [to being a full-time BSB rider], it's all new to me, I've never ridden a road-going bike.”

Kent's teammate Fabio Quartararo will step up to MotoGP next season with the SIC Petronas Yamaha team alongside current Marc VDS rider Franco Morbidelli.

Speed Up is yet to publicly confirm Kent's departure, but it is expected to replace him with Edgar Pons for the remainder of the season. Current Gresini rider Jorge Navarro will join the team next year.