Yamaha's activities

SPECIAL CONTENT > YAMAHA'S ACTIVITIES YAMAHA ALL SET TO DEFEND WORLDSBK TRIPLE CROWN AFTER ENCOURAGING BARCELONA TEST

Yamaha heads into the 2022 season looking to defend the FIM Superbike World Championship ‘Triple Crown’, having won the riders’, manufacturers’ and teams’ titles last year, and has been working hard to ensure it remains at the sharp end of the highly competitive WorldSBK feld. The recent Barcelona test (25-26 March) gave Yamaha, as well as the teams and riders, some encouragement, having topped the timings overall with Toprak Razgatlıoğlu.

The roller coaster 2021 campaign will go down in history as one of the most exciting, unpredictable and memorable seasons of all time,

as Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldBSK’s Raz-

gatlıoğlu took on six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea. Though there were many ups and downs, the Turkish rider would eventually get the job done at an intense season fnale in Indonesia.

This incredible achievement was not only down to Razgatlıoğlu’s sensational on-track heroics, but also the hard work and dedication

by the Yamaha engineers and technicians, as well as the entire Pata Yamaha with Brixx Worl-

dBSK crew. For 2022, the drive to continue rai-

sing the bar has ensured that Yamaha heads into the new season with every opportunity of repeating last year’s successes.

Both the Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK and

GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team’s line-ups will remain unchanged this season. Razgatlıoğlu will once again have Andrea Locatelli alongside at the Crescent Racing-run team; the Italian heading into his second WorldSBK season after a stunning maiden campaign. Locatelli ended the championship fourth in the standings, earning him the Rookie of the Year title, and is targeting regular podium visits and a frst victory. At the GYTR GRT Yamaha squad, Garrett Gerlof and Kohta Nozane will once again partner up, hoping to continue taking the team forwards. Gerlof endured a difcult second season in

WorldSBK, but still came away seventh in the standings and fnished as the Top Independent Rider, while GYTR GRT Yamaha was named as

the Best Independent Team. The American has continued to show he’s one of the fastest in

the championship and is aiming to turn that impressive speed into race wins in 2022. His

teammate Nozane improved throughout his maiden campaign, with his standout performance coming in the fnal wet Indonesian race.

Alongside these two, the GIL Motorsport Yamaha team will also be felding a Yamaha R1 for the returning Christophe Ponsson, who enjoyed his best season to date in 2021, while Motoxracing Yamaha will run Isaac Viñales.

The Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK team

got its 2022 pre-season preparation underway at the beginning of February, testing at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimão.

able to reacquaint themselves with the Yamaha R1 WorldSBKs.

After a test in Aragón, where the team and Yamaha continued to work on developing the 2022 package, Barcelona acted as the frst real opportunity to see how they stacked up against the other manufacturers, teams and riders. Running their new livery, which was launched on 24 March, further work was done on

fne tuning the electronics, while other parts, such as the updated Akrapovic exhaust, were also successfully trialled for the frst time.

This penultimate test was a positive one for the team, with both Razgatlıoğlu and Locatelli combining for 250 laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, run-

On the opening day, Gerlof once again showed the blistering pace of the Yamaha R1, going fastest in the morning and eventually fnishing up in third as he and the team focused on longer runs. The Texan managed a mammoth 147 laps across the two days, including some signifcant running in the wet, where he praised the new electronics package. Nozane ran an error-free test, and completed more laps than any of the other Yamaha riders in the wet, gaining good experience in conditions he has thrived in, despite having limited experience.

Overall, the four riders, both teams and Yamaha were

pleased with the electronic and mechanical upgrades brought in during the winter. Alongside this, running in all conditions has left them well-prepared for any challenge they may face during the 2022 WorldSBK

season.

One more test awaits the Yamaha crews, with the Of-

fcial WorldSBK Test in Aragón on 4-5 April. The MotorLand venue will also play host to the opening round of the season less than a week later (8-10 April). With all teams expected to run at this test, it will provide the best chance yet to see how the developments made have improved the Yamaha R1’s performance comparatively, particularly at a track that hasn’t often played to the bike’s strengths in recent years. ning in both wet and dry conditions. Although they were unable to maximise their pace on the opening day with the reigning world champion, Razgatlıoğlu went fastest of all on the second morning, with the running in the rain proving vital as Yamaha was able to test the electronic package in the wet.

For Locatelli, he showed strong pace in the morning of the opening day, before two falls in the afternoon hampered his running. Still, the 25-year-old was pleased with the work done, improving his wet weather riding – an area he struggled with somewhat in 2021 due to the lack of experience in these conditions on the R1.

In the other garage, the GYTR GRT Yamaha team began their pre-season running in Aragón, where they were able to fnd a good base set-up for both Gerlof and Nozane. The Italian squad then headed to Misano for a second test, where Gerlof showed good pace to go second overall.

In Barcelona, the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team un-

veiled their striking new 2022 blue and white livery, while announcing Genuine Yamaha Racing Technologies (GYTR) as a title partner for the upcoming season.