Spanish actor Antonio Banderas will next season launch a motorcycling team in Moto2, the replacement for the 250cc MotoGP category, he told television channel TVE1 on Friday. The team is likely to be called either 'Banderas Racing Team' or 'Team Antonio Banderas' but the identities of its riders are not yet known.

"I will try to give my best to the riders in this new category so that they can work in the best conditions," said Banderas, famed for his roles in the films The Mask of Zorro and Philadelphia, from his Los Angeles residence. The 48-year-old film star has owned motorbikes for over 30 years and is known to take a great interest in the fortunes of Spanish MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa.