Two weeks ago it was announced that EAB Ten Kate Racing and South African Steven Odendaal will compete together in the 2020 SSP300 World Championship. Dutchman Glenn van Straalen joins this team and will ride a Yamaha YZF-R3, prepared by Ten Kate Racing Products.
For EAB Ten Kate Racing, the WorldSSP300 is a completely new challenge, but Glenn has competed in this championship before. He finished second in 2017 at Assen as a wildcard and also second a year later in his home race in the Netherlands.
Glenn van Straalen will therefore be one of the teammates of Loris Baz, whose teammate in the World Superbike Championship has not yet been announced. There were contacts with the German Sandra Cortese to be part of the Dutch Superbike team with Loris, but nothing has materialized yet. Team Ten Kate hints that they are on to a "big move" and the announcement of Baz's future teammate should not be long.
According to Glenn van Straalen, “I'm very curious to see how competitive we will be in 2020, but I'm confident it will be a good year for us. I would like to thank Kervin, Ferry and all my sponsors for this wonderful opportunity and I look forward to beginning our winter testing program. »
To Kervin Bos, the team manager of EAB Ten Kate Racing, “We are very happy to have Glenn in our team as he has already been fast on a WorldSSP300 bike prepared by us and even finished on the podium in a World Championship race in Assen. He's had a tough year in WorldSSP but we expect him to find his rhythm again.
“It’s also very special that we will be competing next year in SSP300, World Supersport and of course the World Superbike Championship with Ten Kate Racing and that makes us very proud. And we're still working on a big surprise! More details will follow soon, that's all I can say for now! »
According to Ferry Schoenmakers, EAB Ten Kate Racing team owner, “I am very happy with this new part of our project and I am very happy that we will continue our journey with Glenn van Straalen as he raced for us last season at WorldSSP. »
“Last year was not easy for him, but he showed his talent several times in the WorldSSP300 and we are aware that together we can achieve good results. I would also like to thank all of our sponsors for 2019 and 2020. It is wonderful to have such support year after year! »
Photo above: Loris Baz during the Jerez tests
Photos © EAB Ten Kate Racing
