The Quarterley Racing side of Quarterley Racing/On Track Development proudly announces Michael Barnes’ return to American professional racing aboard a Moto Corse Performance prepped Ducati Monster 797. The 2012 Harley Davidson XR 1200 series champion and 2016 Daytona 200 winner looks forward to competing at the Road Atlanta season opener on April 5-7. During the span of his 30 year professional racing career, he’s ridden for 33 different AMA and international teams on 15 different brands of motorcycles. Barnes is the perfect candidate to pilot the newly homologated Ducati Monster 797 in the Twins Class.

When asked about his thoughts and goals for the upcoming weekend, Barnes says, “I’ve been in this position many times and it’s truly exciting. Typically, my Daytona efforts have come together during the last few weeks leading up to the race and this is a bit similar. MotoCorse Performance has spent many, many hours making sure I have a great machine and that gives me a lot of confidence that I can work alongside the Quarterley Racing crew to give good feedback in a short amount of time. The ultimate goal is to set myself up to cross the finish line first in the race.”

Having been an avid Pirelli rider for the past 5 years, he will also make the transition to the spec Dunlop tires. “I’ve got a lot of smart people in my corner for this race. I’ve worked with Thermosman Suspension for years on a multitude of different motorcycles. I’ve got full confidence we will be able to find a good set up relatively quickly. I’m thankful to be given the opportunity to do this. I work extremely well under pressure when I have the right tools. Everything is coming together and I think we can get a good result for myself, Quarterley Racing, Ducati North America and Moto Corse Performance”

From Quarterley Racing On Track Development:

We are very proud to have Michael on board for our maiden run of the Ducati Monster 797. His accomplishments over the years and diversity in machinery made him a perfect choice to race the newly homologated bike. Michael and Dale Quarterley rode for the same team in the past and Dale was a crew chief for Michael at one point as well. Our Quarterley Racing On Track Development team was allowed by Moto America to run an older version 796 Monster in 2018 for a test which showed promise with an unofficial podium finish. Since then we planned to follow through for 2019 once the approved model completed the homologation process. With Eraldo Ferracci, Moto Corse Performance and Ducati North America involved, we are eager to get the Ducati brand into the mix with the increasingly popular Twins Class in Moto America.

Being a rider development team, we plan to be able to create a next step within the team for promising young team riders to move to from the Junior Cup when the time comes. Our plan for the Ducati in the Twins class for 2019 includes a potential for two bikes and a season long Wild Card format to continue development of the bike while competing.

Quarterley Racing On Track Development sponsors for 2019 include Inter-Tech Supplies, Fast By Ferracci Racing, Yoshimura R&D, Wiseco Performance Products, Motul USA Inc., Regina Chain, BrakeTech, Ferodo Racing, Matt & Jesse, Scott Powersports, Defiance Lifestyle Clothing, Woodcraft-CFM, Dynojet Research, Beta Tools, Roadracing World, Drippin’ Wet Graphics, Moto-D Racing, Fast Bike Industries, Van Dyk Recycling Solutions, Earl’s Racing Team and Kiwi Classic Moto

And proudly adding Ducati North America in support of our Twins class program.