Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/479827
IN THE WIND P32 YAMAHA WSBK WILDCARD? W ith an all-new Yamaha R1 and R1M in its stable for 2015 the Yamaha Road Racing arm of the reorganized Yamaha Europe racing effort features a whole portfolio of strong entries in domestic and World Endur- ance racing categories. A recent 'all-out' test session at Alcarras in Spain for the main R1 teams from all over Europe appeared to indicate that as expected the R1 is nothing less than a potential top level World Superbike entry. But according to former works World Superbike Team Man- ager and current Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Project Manager Andrea Dosoli there are no plans yet for any World Superbike wildcard rides (from national or World Endurance teams) in 2015, as he has re- ceived no requests for support to help make wildcard appear- ances. Dosoli explained the reasoning behind adopting the non-World Superbike strategy this year and re- iterated that no decision had been made on any kind of 2016 World Superbike return for Yamaha. "I must stress that nothing has been decided yet, but for sure there are a lot of expecta- tions that this will happen," said Dosoli. "First we would like to see how things are going in 2015. The 2015 season is not started yet, which makes it pretty tough. Let's see how the bike runs at a national level and then we can decide." The current headquarters for Yamaha's race operations is in Germany, with the hugely experi- enced Markus Eschenbacher in charge of the technical side, and Dosoli splitting his time between Germany and Yamaha's European headquarters in the Netherlands. Gordon Ritchie Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Project Manager Andrea Dosoli talks World Superbike. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE PARIS TO RACE MOTOAMERICA A fter a year of racing overseas, Melissa Paris will return to racing stateside in the all-new Mo- toAmerica AMA/FIM North American Supersport Championship aboard an M4 MPH Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 prepped by Team Hammer Contract Services. "I'm really happy to be going back to Team Ham- mer, the team that has helped me achieve some of my best results," Paris said via release. "After a challenging year in CEV in 2014, I'm looking forward to taking all the things I've learned and combining them with the opportunity to be working again with a proven, winning team and top-notch equipment to see what I can accomplish." Along with support from M4 and Roadracing World, Melissa will continue to be supported by her personal sponsors Joe Rocket, MotionPro, Drippin' Wet and Zodiac Watches. She is also excited to announce new partnerships with HJC, GoAZ Motorcycles and Spooky Fast Customs. "I'm so thankful to the companies that have supported me over the years and I'm excited that I get to continue to represent them. I also am really stoked to be working with some great new partners in 2015," said Paris. Paris finished fifth in the 2014 Repsol CEV Super- stock 600 Championship held primarily in Spain. Melissa Paris to race MotoAmerica's Superport class aboard an M4-prepped Suzuki.