Gosselies, Belgium – 29 July 2014: Jorge Navarro will replace Livio Loi on the Marc VDS Racing Team’s Kalex-KTM Moto3 machine for the remainder of the 2014 season.

Navarro, currently second in the Spanish Moto3 Championship standings after taking his first win of the season at Albacete three weeks ago, will make his debut for the Marc VDS Racing Team at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

The 18-year-old Spaniard is no stranger to the Grand Prix paddock, having made three wild card appearances in the last two seasons, but Indianapolis will his first race as a permanent rider in the Moto3 World Championship.

Navarro will continue to contest the Spanish Moto3 Championship for Team Machado-Came alongside his World Championship commitments.

“It was a difficult decision to replace Livio in our Moto3 team, but we set him clear, realistic goals at the beginning of the season and he failed to achieve them,” declared Marc VDS Team Principal, Michael Bartholemy. “As a team we could do no more to improve the results, which is why we took the difficult decision to replace Livio on the bike.

“In Jorge Navarro we have a young rider who has already shown his potential with some impressive performances in the Spanish Moto3 Championship, but was unable to make the step up to the World stage due to a lack of funding. We have the budget and Jorge has shown clearly he has the pace so, for us, it was a perfect fit.  It’s a big opportunity for any rider, and one that I’m confident that Jorge will grab with both hands.”