Due to the general slowdown in activity caused by the health situation, the Dutch team Ten Kate Yamaha has a lot of problems getting the necessary equipment. The closure of the Italian border in particular severely limits the availability of parts because the headquarters and workshops of Yamaha motor racing, which manages the brand's activities in MotoGP and World Superbike, are located in Lesmo, near Monza and Milan.
“Our motorcycle store is still open, our workshop too, we can work,” said Kervin Bos, team manager of Ten Kate in WSBK, describing the situation in the Netherlands. “For the next six weeks we will be able to work on motorcycles and engines for Ten Kate Racing Products, but for now there are no track days. Nobody rides, all the big tuners like us or YART (Yamaha Austria Racing Team) have the same problems. You have no choice but to stay calm and healthy and make the most of it. »
“We are still busy working on the racing bikes, because after Australia we had a lot to do. The only problem is that we don't have the new engines yet. When we went to get the 2020 engines from Yamaha, Italy was closed. Now we can only prepare, otherwise we would have had plenty of time to work on the engines. »
“Our competition department has prepared many cylinder heads and other modifications for this, and as soon as we have the engines we can start. »
“The fact that the schedule is shifted gives us more time. We can now discuss our electronic issues with Yamaha. But in the end, we were in a good rhythm, so it's a shame that we didn't compete in the races. We will not benefit much from the postponements. »
Originally, the initial plan was to switch to 1 Yamaha R2020 engines prepared for the European opener in Jerez at the end of March and bring a Ten Kate engine for the following event in Assen.
But it is now clear that the 2020 World Superbike Championship will not continue at Donington Park until early July at the earliest, and probably not until early August at Oschersleben.
At Phillip Island, Loris Baz was leading the second race on the twelfth and thirteenth laps, fourth in the first after the first loop, and fourth in the Superpole race on the third and fourth laps. But he had bad luck and was hit twice, which meant that he ultimately had to settle for 7th, 7th and 8th places. But for observers present in Australia, the performance of the young 27-year-old Savoyard was up to par with the first three.
“We had the impression at that moment that we had returned to our good level ", Bos said at the start of the season. “Everything was going in the right direction, including with the sponsors. The current situation is causing delays in all areas. If this continues, we will have some very busy months ahead of us. »
“On the positive side, we will be able to do some testing before our home race in Assen at the end of August. In the past we always had a huge advantage at home because we rode there two or three days before. »
Current schedule for the 2020 Superbike World Championship:
28.2.-1.3 Phillip Island/Australia
12.6 – 14.6 Misano/Italy
3,7-5,7 Donington Park/UK
31.7.-2.8 Oschersleben/Germany
21-23.8 Assen/Netherlands
4,9-6,9 Portimão/Portugal
18.9-20.9 Catalonia/Spain
3.10.-4.10. Magny-Cours/France
9.10-11.10. San Juan/Argentina
24.10.-25.10. Jerez/Spain
(Date to be determined) Imola/Italy
(Date to be determined) Aragón/Spain
(Date to be determined) Losail/Qatar
Source: Speedweek. com
Photos © Yamaha
