Ronald confirmed that Ten Kate will expand to three bikes in WSBK next year, but he's not yet close to making decisions about riders.
OK, back to the kids, Ronald...
Sunday am - Edwards at Tech 3 is Good News for Toseland
Colin Edwards' agreement to switch from Fiat Yamaha to Hervé Poncharal's Tech 3 satellite squad can only be good news for Britain's
James Toseland.
The 33-year-old Texan brings four years of
MotoGP experience to the Tech 3 camp, and as the two riders speak the same language the exchange of information between them should flow freely.
"They have a relationship going back to when they both rode for Honda," Lin Jarvis, managing director of Yamaha Motor Racing, told me in the paddock this morning. "I can imagine the chemistry between the two of them."
Toseland fans must have been worried when he announced that he was going to Tech 3, but Jarvis believes that the French
équipe will bounce back in 2008 after some difficult times.
"Budget has been an issue for the team in the past two years partly due to the financial crisis that the sport was in a couple of years ago," he said. "Now it's time for them to be aggressive again. 2008 will be a great opportunity for them to improve their technical and rider package and get back to the front."
Jarvis confirmed that Fiat Yamaha and Tech 3 will receive virtually identical bikes, but that new parts would first be assessed on the factory bikes.
"When we are sure that they work and we have the manufacturing facility to produce them, they will be fed to Tech 3," he said.
Sunday am - Yamaha Admit: We're Talking to Bridgestone
But which tyres will the Yamahas run on? Both Fiat Yamaha with Michelin and Tech 3 with Dunlop have encountered difficulties at times this year, but Edward's appearance at the latter team suggests that Michelin might be used across all four Yamaha bikes.
