Home » Sport » WSBK, departure of Michaël Van der Mark: we are surprised at Yamaha and we are preparing the succession

WSBK, departure of Michaël Van der Mark: we are surprised at Yamaha and we are preparing the succession

The pilot market is also a reality in WSBK and it has experienced a rebound in recent hours with the announced end of the adventure between Michaël Van der Mark and Yamaha. Rumor has it that the driver will go to BMW. Andrea Dosoli, who heads the R1 project in the category, gives his point of view, stating that this is not because of Yamaha. He also talks about succession …

After four years of loyal service, Michaël Van der Mark will therefore leave the Yamaha R1 at the end of this season to, without doubt, embark on a new project with BMW. A decision that belongs to the only pilot who thus took his employer on the wrong foot: ” we were surprised by the choice of Michael »Reveals Dosoli. « Yamaha did not expect his farewell, but it is his decision and we respect it. During the week, we had the opportunity to confront van der Mark, who communicated to us the choice to end his adventure with us once the season ended ».

He even insists: ” Yamaha wanted to continue his journey with Michael and offered him a contract renewal for next season. The company offered him the best obviously depending on the budget related to the Superbike project ” A statement which would imply a better offer from BMW, even if the German brand is never mentioned. ” Economically, we gave him everything that was possible » assure Dosoli.

Tom Sykes in the viewfinder

The arrival of Turkish hope named Toprak at his side would have had no influence on this reversal. Still, the successor to the Dutchman will have to deal with the fiery protected Kenan Sofuoglu. Names for this challenge? Dosoli gives some in his interview with GPOne: ” Tom Sykes wouldn’t be bad, since Tom has been with us before. Our priority is to assess the pilots we already have at home. In recent years, Yamaha has worked hard to grow young people, and today there are many candidates ».

We can cite Loris Baz, Locatelli, Gerloff, but also Jonas Folger. Jonas and Loris have openly declared that they would like the official motorcycle. ” We are aware of the alternatives proposed and will carry out an in-depth evaluation in this regard. We are certainly in no rush to make a decision, also because 2020 is a special year. There will indeed be few races and it will be interesting to understand the potential of our pilots ” The decision should nevertheless arrive in early September …

All articles on Drivers: Loris Baz

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.