Yamaha returns to World Supersport

From Yamaha Racing

The 2011 World Supersport Championship will witness the return of the Yamaha YZF-R6 to the grid with the Yamaha ParkinGO Team.

In 2009 the Yamaha YZF-R6 was the track weapon of choice, dominating the World Supersport Championship in the hands of 2011 rookie MotoGP rider Cal Crutchlow. The pairing proved unbeatable with Crutchlow using the full potential of the Yamaha Supersport machine to score 10 pole position starts and 10 podiums, including five race wins, on his way to the title.

The Yamaha World Supersport Team was withdrawn by its owner Yamaha Motor Europe from the championship during 2010.

For the 2011 season Yamaha Motor Europe will provide the 2009 championship winning Yamaha R6 race bikes along with Yamaha genuine racing parts to the privately owned ParkinGO Team, for 2011 to be named Yamaha ParkinGO Team. The race bikes will be refreshed and bought up to 2011 level at Yamaha’s racing workshop in Germany before being delivered. Yamaha technical staff will provide behind the scenes support on an ongoing basis throughout the season while the team itself will take responsibility for organization, rider selection and race entry.

The Yamaha ParkinGO Team will continue partnerships with some of its own technical partners, although Yamaha Motor Europe will also support negotiations with it’s former technical partners and the team for the season ahead.

The ParkinGO Team entered the last three seasons of the World Supersport Championship with a different manufacturer, performing strongly in 2010 with four podiums by rider Chaz Davies and a victory at Imola snatched away by technical problems. The season end saw a top five finish for the team with Davies fourth in the standings and teammate David Salom just behind in fifth.

The 2011 line up sees British rider Davies remain with the team, joined by new Italian teammate Luca Scassa, who impressed in 2010 as one of the top privateer World Superbike riders.

"This is a great opportunity for officially supported R6 machinery to return to the World Supersport Championship,” said Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “The R6 is a winning machine which, after taking the World Supersport Championship in 2009, has continued in 2010 with many national titles alongside the European Superstock 600 Championship title, despite not competing at world level. It is our belief and our vision that in today’s circumstances supporting a private team with the materials needed to compete is the appropriate involvement in World Supersport for a manufacturer."

“We managed to reach a mutually satisfying agreement with Yamaha Motor Europe in just 10 days time,” said Giuliano Rovelli, Yamaha ParkinGO Team owner. “Having the opportunity to work with a manufacturer that has racing in its philosophy makes a big difference. I shared this important decision with the whole team. Chaz Davies and Luca Scassa are professional riders and are looking forward to having the chance to win the World Supersport Championship with a very competitive Yamaha R6.”