Team Evan Bros is hungry for redemption after a lackluster 2023 in World Supersport. At the end of the season, the Romagna team carried out a test with Valentin Debise, but in the paddock, everyone thought they would confirm Lorenzo Dalla Porta, who succeeded Andrea Mantovani mid-season. In recent races he has made significant progress and appears to be on the right track.
Once the hypothesis Dallas Port collapsed, the former Moto3 world champion having signed with AltoGo, the name of Lorenzo Baldassarri appeared. The hypothesis had a very romantic scent: the driver from Marche had given Evan Bros his last victories in 2022, had led the Ravenna team to the podium in 16 races and had finished the championship as vice-world champion . Nothing happened: Baldassarri will race on a Ducati. Evan Bros will therefore line up Valentine Debise, fifth on a Yamaha GMT94 in 2023, and in any case an experienced rider who can therefore guarantee a good performance.
Fabio Evangelista reveals the context
“The year 2023 didn't start very well, then Lorenzo Dalla Porta arrived and it wasn't easy for him at the start, you shouldn't expect miracles. During the season, however, he improved a lot, he achieved a sixth place and other top 10s. During the year we were able to understand what was wrong, what the shortcomings were fill. We considered continuing with Lorenzo Dalla Porta, who, with an additional year of experience, could have continued to progress and together we could have reaped some of the benefits of what we had done in 2023."
Why haven't you confirmed Lorenzo Dalla Porta?
“Lorenzo is a very light rider and the regulations required us to put 8 kg of ballast on our bike, which weighs 163 kg. We tried to spread them out a bit throughout the bike, but it's a bit difficult, it creates problems with balance, ride and handling. We already had problems in 2023 and the idea of having to add ballast next year worried us. Being forced to add weight to the bike because the rider is too light is certainly not an advantage, so to speak. »
Did you really negotiate with Lorenzo Baldassarri?
“I confirm that the meeting with Lorenzo Baldassarri took place and that we talked about it. The problem is that he decided to return to Supersport very late, he waited until the last minute to find a place in Superbike and at the end of November there was no time to organize everything properly. We had already discussed with Debise and we were already setting up a project with him. »
What are your goals for Supersport 2024?
“We decided to stay with Yamaha, which involves a lot of development work during the winter. We have great confidence in Debise, a rider who has already lapped harder than Dalla Porta during testing and who worked better with our bike than with the one used this year. Valentin is very motivated, he really wanted to run with us and his enthusiasm is contagious. Realistically, our goal is to finish the 2024 Supersport World Championship in the top 5 and try to be the best Yamaha. »
Who are the favorites for the Supersport World Championship?
“Next year there will be some regulatory changes with the very frequent rebalancing and I hope everything will be rebalanced. There are many strong drivers who can potentially challenge for the title. There is clearly Manzi on a Yamaha, then there are those on Ducati: from Huertas to Montella, from Corsi to Baldassarri. I would also include among the favorites two MV drivers like Schrotter and Caricasulo, if Can Oncu is physically fit he can also aim for the title and I expect a good season from Van Straalen. So with such riders, being in the top five would be a very good result. »
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