It is now an established fact: after a few months of inactivity, the 26-year-old French rider will return to the Superbike world championship track aboard a Yamaha R1M from the Dutch team of the Ten Kate brothers.
This project took some time to be developed, which explains the absence of Loris Baz during the first rounds of the WSBK championship.
Officialized on April 2 Before the round in Assen, the national event for the famous team, the practice will not take place for some time.
When ? The answer can be found in an interesting interview given by Haut-Savoyard to our colleagues from GPone.
“We don't know if we will make our debut in Imola (May 12). I don't think we're going to make it. We will definitely be in Jerez (June 9) and we will have two days of testing before the world championship round. At the end of May, we will also test in Misano.”
How competitive will his bike be? The response of “Bazooka” brings hope…
“Yamaha has taken a big step forward since last year. In 2018, R1 drivers achieved a few feats, nothing more. Today, Van Der Mark and Lowes are consistently among the leaders. I am convinced that the R1 M can do something very good in this SBK championship. I think apart from Bautista, all the other bikes and riders are in a compact group. I say Yamaha is already at the level of Kawasaki, the performance of both bikes is similar. The S1000 RR is completely new and the German manufacturer is working harder. BMW is nearing the top and the results will come in time. Honda needs something new, it would be nice to see the Fireblades play something big. The others, Ducati, are also there, except number 19.
We are going to get a bike from Yamaha that is exactly the same as the four bikes on the grid. The chassis, engine and electronics will be the same as those of Van Der Mark, Lowes, Melandri and Cortese. The differences are in the braking system, the rims and certain details. Ten Kate will not have to make any parts or modifications. The team now just has to assemble the bike. The link between Ten Kate and Yamaha is direct, at the level of an official team. Andrea Dosoli wanted and pushed for this project. At Yamaha they want direct contact with the teams involved in SBK and we are one of them. By starting late, the Ten Kate team and I will have nothing left to play for in this 2019 championship. We will try to fight in every race, looking for what we really want: a podium result and, if we can, even more.”
There is no doubt that by continuing to improve your physical fitness, Loris Baz is champing at the bit before having 24 (8 rounds
Snow in Assen? What's the problem guys??? pic.twitter.com/TKd6KCF1hf
— Loris baz (@lorisbaz) April 13, 2019
