The Yamaha MotoGP factory team has taken another step towards adding more European influence to its squad for the future by signing Suzuki engineering guru Dr Thomas O'Kane.
Suzuki's decision not to participate in the World Championship after the end of this season has allowed several teams to recruit from the Hamamatsu brand's box. Starting with Aprilia who immediately jumped on Alex Rins' team leader, Manuel Cazeaux, who will soon reunite with Maverick Vinales with whom he had already worked in 2015 and 2016, before the Catalan rider left Suzuki to try his luck at Yamaha. During the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, news arrived that Frankie Carchedi, Joan Mir's current chief engineer, would be joining the ranks of Gresini Racing to work alongside Fabio Di Giannantonio.
But Yamaha also looked with some interest at the Suzuki team, enlisting Thomas O'Kane, an Irish engineer present in the Suzuki garage since 2005, he worked with Chris Vermeulen between 2006 and 2009 and Aleix Espargaró in 2015 and 2016. Since then, he has alternated between the Technical Direction of the Japanese team but is also involved in the development of the GSX-RR, as team leader for test rider Sylvain Guintoli. He thus played a key role in the development of the GSX-RR, making it a winning motorcycle thanks to extensive skills both in the pit and in the workshop.
But from next year, he will wear the Yamaha colors, with which he already worked a few decades ago in Kenny Roberts' team. The goal of Maio Meregalli, Lin Jarvis and senior Iwata officials is to put together a very competitive Yamaha M1 for Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli.
The signing of Fabio Quartararo for the next two years in MotoGP came after having given him some technical guarantees, such as the arrival of Luca Marmorini, expert in motorization and rich in experience between Formula 1, notably with Ferrari and Toyota . Its main task will be to provide more power to the YZR-M1's inline-four.
