Rising star Kayla Yaakov will make a popular wildcard appearance in this weekend’s round of the Dunlop Campionato Italiano Velocità (CIV) season at Mugello, where the 17-year-old American will benefit from the support of Dunlop on one of Barni Spark Racing Team’s Ducatis.

Yaakov has already made a name for herself in MotoAmerica, securing a number of podium finishes in the highly competitive Dunlop-supported championship to sit sixth in the standings. While this will be her first time in CIV, she already has considerable experience racing in Europe in her short career, including in the FIM R3 bLU cRU European Superfinal. She has also raced at Mugello before, in the Yamaha R7 Cup. 

Her wildcard appearance in the fifth round of the CIV season was proposed by Paolo Ciabatti, General Manager of Ducati Corse Off-Road, who has been a staunch supporter of Yaakov since his tenure as Ducati Corse’s Sporting Director. Barni Spark Racing Team first encountered her at the 200 Miles of Daytona, where a technician from the Bergamo-based team assisted Team Rahal (Kayla’s current team, owned by IndyCar star Graham Rahal). The agreement was finalised during the Superbike round at Misano last June, with the support of both Dunlop and the Federazione Motociclistica Italiana.

She’ll race one of Barni Spark Racing Team’s Ducati Panigale V2s in the thrilling Supersport 600 NG class, and her experience will be covered in a documentary series currently under development. The team itself is enjoying a strong CIV season, with noted progress for Yaakov’s Supersport 600 NG teammate this weekend Edoardo Aquilano, and six race wins so far in the Superbike class for Michele Pirro.

Kayla Yaakov said: “Even if is is the same brand, Dunlop tires in CIV are quite different compared to MotoAmerica. The size in Italy is 185/70R17 and 125/80R17 while in the US we are used to 180/65R17 and 120/75R17, so the grip at the lean angle is different. In any case I felt immediately at ease; the tires are performing very well and suitable for this type of asphalt.”

Dunlop became the title sponsor and exclusive tire partner of CIV this season after previously supplying the top Superbike class. This partnership has brought Dunlop’s extensive experience working in some of the most demanding and prestigious motorcycle racing championships in the world to CIV, a series which is enjoying a boom in popularity outside of its native Italy.

Roberto Finetti, Marketing Manager Motorcycle Europe, Dunlop: “We’re thrilled to welcome Kayla to CIV this weekend and excited to see how she does in Supersport 600 NG, which has consistently put on gripping races all season. Her participation at Mugello shows the increasing international recognition of CIV thanks to the efforts of the promoters and the presence of more and more international stars on the grid.”

Yaakov’s Supersport 600 NG races will take place at 14:35 CET on Saturday and 15:20 on Sunday.