Yamaha is looking to kick-start its 2015 campaign as the eni FIM Superbike World Championship begins its European season at MotorLand Aragon next weekend. The manufacturer is looking to branch out dramatically with its new R1 model.
āYamaha Racing Europe has a new strategy for 2015,ā explains Andrea Dosoli, Road Racing Project Director for Yamaha Motor Europeās Marketing Division. āWe will support five official teams in four different championships: two teams at national level, in BSB and IDM, two teams in the World Endurance Championship and one team in WorldSBK.ā
With regards to the WorldSBK paddock, Yamaha is set to run its official team in Superstock 1000 with riders Florian Marino of France and Kev Coghlan from Scotland. Furthermore, a further two riders will be competing with Yamaha machinery.
āWe have introduced the new R1 and we are proud of this product,ā Dosoli continues. āIt is the first real race-oriented bike. So far, all of the feedback we have had from the riders has been good. The bike has shown high potential in a test run in Spain and we have two strong riders in Florian Marino and Kev Coghlan. Both of them like the bike and both are almost ready for the first race. We are still working on a few details, but we are confident we can be competitive from the next event in Aragon.
āAlongside this we are also supporting another two teams. One is Trasimeno with rider Jeremy Guarnoni and the other is Team Guandalini with Michele Magnoni. Honestly, with these four riders we can be competitive and show the real potential of the new R1. In the past, we had a very strong team in World Superbike, but for now we have not been able to support the teams enough on a local level. Now we would like to support everyone – from those riding for a hobby up to those riding on a national and international level – and develop the R1 as much as possible and try to be competitive everywhere: BSB, IDM, World Endurance and the Stock categories.ā
The full interview with Yamahaās Andrea Dosoli can be viewed on WorldSBK.com.
