WSBK Superbike Presentations: Yamaha WorldSBK teams reveal themselves in Portimão for the 2023 season

Yamaha's six WorldSBK R1s that will compete in the 2023 FIM Superbike World Championship have been revealed in Portimão, during the final European pre-season test before the season begins at Philip Island, Australia, from February 24-26.

The Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK, GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK and GMT94 Yamaha WorldSBK teams will be joined at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve test in Portimão, Portugal, by Motoxracing Yamaha, who will compete in the European rounds of the 2023 WorldSBK calendar with British champion Reigning Superbike Bradley Ray.

Leading the title hunt for Yamaha once again in 2023, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu returns with number 54 after finishing second in one of the most exciting seasons on record. Last year the 26-year-old took 14 wins and a further 15 podiums, and after a positive winter test at Jerez, he remains confident in his ability to take the fight to his rivals and excite fans at the world with his spectacular driving style again this season.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu will return for revenge by teaming up once again at Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK with the 2020 FIM Supersport World Champion, Andrea Locatelli. After finishing fourth and fifth overall in his last two campaigns, the 26-year-old Italian wants to add to his total of six WorldSBK podiums and secure his first victory in 2023.

 

 

While consistency is the name of the game at Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK, it's change at GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK. The team has two new riders: The first is the 2 Moto2021 world champion, the Australian Remy gardner, who is looking to establish himself as one of the leaders in WorldSBK after an impressive season in MotoGP.
He will be joined on the grid by Dominique Aegerter, reigning MotoE world champion and double FIM Supersport world champion. For his move to WorldSBK, the Swiss rider will be hoping to return to the form that saw him score a record 17 wins on the Yamaha R6 during his title defense last season.

 

Lorenzo Baldassari, the main rival ofagitated during his brilliant 2022 season in WorldSSP, also made the jump to WorldSBK with the GMT94 Yamaha WorldSBK team. Baldassari, who won four races and secured a further 12 podiums on the way to second place in his debut season in WorldSSP, is looking to make a successful transition to the WorldSBK category with his GMT94 team, which will also continue to race Yamaha machines in the WorldSSP category.

 

 

Bradley Ray, 2022 British Superbike champion, will also have the opportunity to showcase his talents by competing in the European rounds of WorldSBK with the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK team. The 25-year-old Briton dominated BSB last season on an R1 similar to that used in WorldSBK, taking nine wins and 14 podiums on his way to the title. The objective of Ray is to quickly adapt to the WorldSBK-spec R1 ahead of its racing debut at Assen in April.

 

 

All six riders will ride Yamaha's R1 WorldSBK, a race-proven machine that has undergone considerable development over the very short winter break. Engineers at Yamaha Motor Research and Development Europe have focused their efforts on improving specific areas without compromising the R1's strengths, with a major focus on improving acceleration out of corners. This direction was confirmed during a two-day test at Jerez last week, with both Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK riders and both GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK newcomers finishing promisingly in the top 10. Both days were dominated by Razgatlıoğlu, who came close to breaking the WorldSBK lap record on the second day.

 

 

All teams will now complete two days of testing in Portimão, before the Pata Yamaha Prometeon, GYTR GRT Yamaha and GMT94 Yamaha teams head “Down Under” for the final pre-season test and the first round of the Championship. FIM Superbike World at Phillip Island in Australia. Ray and the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK team will remain in Europe ahead of their debut at Assen.

 

 

Andrea Dosoli, Director of Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing: “ For the first time, we will have six riders under direct contract with Yamaha representing our brand in the FIM Superbike World Championship, including four world champions and one national champion. This is a strong group of drivers, the strongest we have fielded since our return to the championship in 2016, and our expectations are high for this new season. With Toprak and Andrea we have two championship experienced riders, while Remy brings with him a lot of MotoGP experience. Dominique, Lorenzo and Bradley are all proof of our unique step-up program, where Yamaha riders who excel both internationally and domestically, have the opportunity to move up to WorldSBK. Investment in our drivers has also been matched by investment in development, with the R1 improving in key areas, which was illustrated by the performance of all our drivers at the recent Jerez test. We are in a good position to challenge for the world championship title again, but we know that we must eliminate the mistakes that deprived us of important points last year and achieve a perfect season. Thank you to our drivers, and I wish them the best of luck for the upcoming campaign. »