Tom Sykes from BSB to WSB in 2009

September 16, 2008 - The Yamaha Motor Italia World Superbike Team has signed promising young British rider Tom Sykes for the 2009 season with the option to extend for 2010. The 23yr old from Huddersfield in England will ride the all new 2009 Yamaha YZF R1 in next year’s World Superbike Championship.

Sykes has proved to be a competitive and talented rider in the 2008 British Superbike Championship, showing an intelligent and mature riding style beyond his years. Two wildcard rides in WSB this year have seen him qualify an impressive sixth at Brands Hatch and seventh on the grid at Donington.

At Brands he went on to score a sixth place in race two, whilst at Donington he had a storming race one, finishing up in second place after some close racing with Championship leader Troy Bayliss.

Sykes raced in British Supersport for four years from 2003 to 2006, ending second in the championship in the final year. In 2007, his first year in British Superbike, Sykes finished the season a respectable sixth in the standings, and was named Rookie of The Year. He is currently second in the 2008 championship and the first rider on a four-cylinder machine.

Massimo Meregalli – “Tom Sykes is an excellent signing for the team, he is the most interesting young rider in circulation in the racing world this year. I’ve had time to appreciate his riding qualities during the season and Brands Hatch was the confirmation of his talent for me.

His brilliant result at Donington strengthened our conviction. We know that there will be much work next season because the new YZF-R1 arrives and it will have to learn the tracks. We have a lot of faith in being able to obtain good results quickly and the presence of a young person with a lot of ambition will give new motivation to the team.”

“We are delighted to be able to offer Tom the next step in his racing career with Yamaha’s World Superbike Team” said Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Division Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “We are sure he has the qualities needed to be a star rider of the future on the world stage.

With the launch of the new R1 just three days ago, we are very excited about the potential for next year. We are looking forward to developing both the rider and the bike for championship success in 2009 and beyond.”

Marco Melandri to Partner With Hopkins at Kawasaki for 2009

September 14, 2008 - The Kawasaki Racing Team confirmed that Marco Melandri will partner John Hopkins for Kawasaki's assault on the 2009 MotoGP World Championship, after securing the Italian's signature on a two-year contract today in Indianapolis.

The agreement brings to conclusion negotiations that have been ongoing for more than 18 months between Kawasaki and the former 250cc World Champion.

"We started talking to Marco about riding for Kawasaki at the beginning of 2007, but contractual obligations on his part meant that it wasn't possible to secure his services for this season," explained Bartholemy. "Since that time we've kept in close contact with Marco's management company, which meant we were able to reopen negotiations immediately we heard that he would be available in 2009."

After winning the Italian 125cc championship in 1997, the then 15-year-old Melandri finished third in the 125cc world championship the following year, with his two race wins during his debut season making him, at the time, the youngest Grand Prix victor in history. The following year saw the emerging star lose out on the world championship title by just a single point, after achieving five wins and four podium finishes during the course of the season.

In 2002, just two years after stepping up to the quarter-litre class, Melandri was crowned world champion and announced his move to the MotoGP class for the following season.

Melandri's second place in the MotoGP world championship standings in 2005 was backed up with two top five finishes in 2006 and 2007, before a change of teams for the 2008 season unfortunately brought with it a change of fortune for the Italian rider.

"This has been a tough year for Marco, but it's obvious when you speak to him that he's lost none of the drive and determination that have so far brought him 5 race wins and 14 podium finishes in the premier class, despite suffering results this season that don't truly reflect his talent."

"I'm confident that Marco will adapt quickly to Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR and that, together with John, he'll be able to take us to the next level with the development of the all-new 2009 bike. What is certain is that, with Marco and John, we will go into 2009 with our strongest rider line-up since Kawasaki made their full-time return to the premier class in 2002. Now we need to translate this strength and experience into improving our results, with achieving our first race win in MotoGP obviously the major goal," concluded Kawasaki's Competition Manager.

Melandri will make his debut aboard Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR at Valencia in October, during a two-day test immediately after the final race of the 2008 season.

PROFILE: MARCO MELANDRI
Born: 7 August 1982 - Ravenna, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Marital Status: Single
Residence: Derby, England
Height: 166cm / 5'4"
Weight: 58kg / 128lbs
Hobbies: Motocross, cycling, music
First Grand Prix: Japanese Grand Prix, 1998
Grand Prix Podiums: 61 (22 wins in total, 5 MotoGP wins)
 

CAREER STATISTICS: MARCO MELANDRI
2008: Ducati MotoGP Team Rider
2007: 5th MotoGP World Championship (Honda) – 3 podiums
2006: 4th MotoGP World Championship (Honda) – 3 wins and 4 podiums
2005: 2nd MotoGP World Championship (Honda) – 2 wins and 5 podiums
2004: 12th MotoGP World Championship (Yamaha) – 2 podiums
2003: 15th MotoGP World Championship (Yamaha)
2002: 250 World Champion (Aprilia)- 9 wins and 3 podiums
2001: 3rd 250 World Championship (Aprilia) – 1 win and 8 podiums
2000: 5th 250 World Championship (Aprilia) – 4 podiums
1999: 2nd 125 World Championship (Honda) – 5 wins and 4 podiums
1998: 3rd 125 World Championship (Honda) – 2 wins and 6 podiums
1997: Italian 125 Champion (Honda)
1994: Italian minibike Champion
1992: Italian minibike Champion

Ruben Xaus Signs With BMW Motorrad Motorsport for 2009 World Superbike

June 26, 2008 - Munich. BMW Motorrad Motorsport have announced that they have agreed terms with Ruben Xaus and that he will ride their all-new BMW S 1000 RR (wBW report, photos) in the Superbike World Championship in 2009.

The contract between BMW Motorrad Motorsport and Ruben is for two years and is the first step in BMW Motorrad Motorsport's entry into the World Superbike Championship. 

Ruben was born in Sant Cugat des Valles in Cataluyna, Spain and now resides with his wife (Mariona) and daughter (Julia) in Andorra.  He has been a World Superbike regular since 1998 and has taken 34 podiums, including 10 victories.

Peter Mueller (Executive Vice President Development & Model Lines):  "Ever since we announced that we would enter the 2009 Superbike World Championship, there has been a lot of speculation about and interest in our bike and our riders.

Everybody has already had some information about our new S1000 RR bike, and today we can reveal one of the riders who will join us in this great adventure next year.  Ruben is a strong and combative rider, full of enthusiasm and with a passion for racing.

This fits our philosophy completely and together we will take on this new challenge.  We know that the Superbike World Championship is a very hard and competitive series, but we are not entering it just to make up the numbers: we will be taking part because we want to win!

Of course, we are starting with a brand new bike but, together with Ruben, we believe we can progress quickly and maybe surprise a few people along the way.

Ruben Xaus:  "When I met the BMW guys, I was very impressed by their commitment, their passion for racing and their ideas about the future.  We discussed how the World Superbike project was going and I realized that I wanted to be a part of it straightaway.  It is not often that you get the chance to start a completely new project, but I am really looking forward to the challenge.  Although it's going to be tough racing a new bike, I believe BMW will give me a good bike and great support and that's all I ask for.