The DP19 Yamaha Official EMX250 Team and fellow Italian squad SDM Corse MX Team will join forces to form ASTES4-TESAR Yamaha in the 2017 European Championship. Fabio Tognella will be overseeing the new ‘wing’ as Marketing Manager with Daniele Marchese as Team Manager and former MX1 (MXGP) World Champion David Philippaerts as Rider Manager.
The crew will field an exciting trio of emerging racing talent in the forms of Maxime Renaux, Karlis Sabulis and Roan Van de Moosdijk on YZF250s in the EMX250 series. 32 year old Philippaerts has been winding down his riding career over recent years, since the launch of his own racing team three years ago.
The 2008 MX1 World Champion has been focussed on developing the next generation of potential motocross winners. In 2016 ‘DP’ helped Dutch teenager Van de Moosdijk make an impression in the EMX125 series with the YZ125 and captured fifth place overall – and a podium finish in Latvia – as well as the runner-up spot in the FIM Junior World Championship fixture in Russia. The Italian’s organisation and expertise has also been put to excellent use through Yamaha’s YZ125 competition to unearth yet more young competitive prospects and the formation of the Masterclass sessions offering invaluable tuition to the reams of YZ125 riders around the continent.
“Three years ago I started my own team by myself and it was pretty tough but I learned so much about going racing in the right way,” Philippaerts said. “This new move to put two-teams-into-one comes at a great time to do something a bit different and very strong for Yamaha. For me it is also a new role where I can focus more on what I am good at and what I’d like to do; be based more around the riders and making sure everything from a technical and supply side is right. We are joining together to make a great team and I’m really happy.”
Latvian Karlis Sabulis will have his second year on the YZF250 in EMX250 for what is the final stepping stone to Grand Prix, having already made some MX2 wild-card appearances this summer. The addition of Frenchman Maxime Renaux completes the roster and the former Junior World Champion, European Champion and national number one will be aiming to resurrect his lightning career trajectory after an elbow injury halted some of his progress in EMX250 in 2016. The sixteen year old is regarded as one of the brightest lights on the European scene and will most certainly be one to watch in ’17.
“From Michele Rinaldi’s Factory MXGP team to Wilvo and then to MX2 with our Kemea works team we have a fantastic path in place for the Yamaha riders coming through the system and ASTES4-TESAR Yamaha Official EMX Team is another pivotal stage in that process,” commented Yamaha Motor Europe MX Manager Erik Eggens. “We have some very talented, experienced and knowledgeable people helping the guys develop as riders and professionals with this European project and the agreements and vision we all have together means it is another racing scheme that we cannot wait to launch.”