iMotorbike first told you that Ten Kate, the famous Dutch team, would be returning to the World Superbike championship a little less than a month ago, but at the time Ten Kate kept their lips tight on who would be their rider and which bike they would use.
Well, today, at a press conference held at Assen TT circuit, in Holland, Ten Kate finally unveiled the rider and bike with which they will make their awaited return to the World Superbike championship!
As we mentioned at the time, Ten Kate, led by Ronald Ten Kate, wanted to sign in Frenchman Loris Baz, an experienced rider that first got to the world stage in 2008, competing in the Supersport category. He then got up to Superbike, where he achieved two race wins with Kawasaki and 14 podiums, but then he decided to make the move and go to MotoGP.
In MotoGP, Loris Baz had a tough time riding for smaller outfits and with satellite machines that couldn’t give him what he needed to fight for top positions. The Frenchman then made a step back and returned to World Superbike, with BMW Motorrad and Althea, but the return wasn’t easy, and he never got up to the performance level expected of him.
Left without a bike since the end of last season, Loris Baz faces a new challenge in his racing career, joining Ten Kate and will be riding a Yamaha bike for the first time.
Ten Kate was left with two options regarding motorcycle manufacturers to partner with after they were left out in the cold by Honda last season.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport mentioned they wanted more S1000RR’s on track in Superbike, but their official team with Tom Sykes and Marcus Reiterberger is facing a huge challenge while seeking for more power for their S1000RR, and getting the results the team needs.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport wouldn’t be able to supply Ten Kate team the bike and parts needed, so the historic Dutch team decided to go on with another manufacturer, in this case from Japan: Yamaha.
Yamaha Racing has an ambitious racing program in World Superbike. They have an official team (PATA Yamaha World SBK) with Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark racing factory YZF-R1’s, and there’s also a second team (GRT Yamaha) with Marco Melandri and current Supersport 600 champion Sandro Cortese riding satellite R1’s with official support from Yamaha Racing.
Supplying Ten Kate with a fifth YZF-R1 for Loris Baz means the Yamaha will now have more bikes on track, which in turn means the Japanese manufacturer gets extra data from each rider at each track, and that will give Yamaha a better view on how to develop their race bike.
For Ten Kate, getting the support from Yamaha Racing means they’re getting a bike that is already very competitive if we look at their latest results, and with the 25 years racing experience from Ten Kate, this will be a team to keep our eye on.
Ten Kate planned to be present at their home race in Assen TT, but Yamaha Racing won’t supply the bike and parts on time. So, the new Ten Kate Yamaha team and Loris Baz will make their race debut at the Imola race, middle of May.
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