Ten Kate Racing and Yamaha are officially calling it a day after an eight-season alliance that reshaped the grid. The partnership, which first took shape in WorldSBK in 2019 before expanding into WorldSSP in 2020, delivered remarkable success, securing numerous victories and three World Supersport championships along the way.
Everything kicked off in 2019 with Loris Baz flying the flag in WorldSBK, a campaign that rolled into 2020 where the Frenchman bagged four rostrums. That same year marked the squad's shift to the R6 machine in WorldSSP, yielding a sixth-place finish for Steven Odendaal. Then came Dominique Aegerter, and the partnership truly hit overdrive. The Swiss rider put on a masterclass, pulling off 27 wins and 35 podiums from just 44 races to capture two world titles.
When Aegerter stepped up to WorldSBK, Stefano Manzi stepped into the squad and immediately made his mark as runner-up in both 2023 and 2024. The arrival of the R9 in 2025 provided the ultimate weapon for Manzi's title charge, driving him to 11 wins out of 24 and 20 podium appearances to claim the World Championship crown. Can Oncu took over the handlebars for the team in 2026, delivering one win and eight podium finishes. Across their time together, the Ten Kate and Yamaha combination racked up an astonishing 48 wins and 99 podiums in WorldSSP, alongside four rostrum finishes from Baz in WorldSBK.
Reflecting on the departure, Andrea Dosoli, Division Manager in the Motorsport Division at Yamaha Motor Europe, said: “We would like to thank Ten Kate for everything over the past eight seasons. Their record in the Supersport World Championship spoke for itself before they joined Yamaha in 2019, and adding three World Championship titles to the tally has contributed towards Yamaha becoming the most successful manufacturer in WorldSSP history. We are disappointed to see them choose a new direction for 2027 but must thank Ronald and Gerrit Ten Kate and their team for all their efforts over the past eight years.”
