Vosters: “A world title does not come to order!”
The bike is Japanese, but Bergeijk is home to the Yamaha factory motocross team. After five years, the Japanese are longing for a new world champion. The key to success is in the hands of Brabander Louis Vosters. Whether he wants to deliver a world champion in the coming years. Japanese managers delivered the message loud and clear during a courtesy visit to the Grand Prix of Nations in Assen.
“Special. And it was serious, not with a smile. I said that I need the right riders for a world title and that I cannot deliver to order,” says Louis Vosters.
The new owner immediately experienced that the bar for a factory team is high. In recent years, the Bergeijk entrepreneur led Yamaha's 'B team' in the MXGP World Championship. After Michele Rinaldi announced that he would be stepping back after 25 years, the Japanese motorcycle brand offered Vosters the opportunity to take over the factory team from the Italian. The 63-year-old Brabander seized that opportunity with both hands. He now has three riders from the top five of last year's World Championship on his payroll. He extended the contracts of the Frenchman Gautier Paulin (4th) and the Swiss Arnaud Tonus (5th). Jeremy Seewer (2nd in 2019), a German-speaking Swiss, was part of Rinaldi's legacy. Romain Febvre, the last MXGP world champion in Yamaha blue in 2015, opted for a future with Kawasaki.
“A brand basically works with two drivers. I wanted to keep Paulin and Tonus and Seewer joined from Yamaha. Three drivers is also nice, because there are many injuries during a season,” says Vosters.
As team boss, he is not guided by chauvinism. “I don't look at nationalities. It would be great if we ever had a good Dutchman in the team again. The opportunity must also present itself. And he must have the level. With all due respect to others, but at the moment only Jeffrey Herlings and Glenn Coldenhoff are eligible.”
The three Yamaha riders each have their own accommodation just across the border in Lommel during the season. The corona crisis has driven the Swiss and the Frenchman home pending relaxation of the training regime. Of the eighteen team members, only a few mechanics are still working in the workshop.
Vosters: “I didn't have a good feeling about the Grand Prix of Valkenswaard on March 8. I thought that was borderline. That same evening we cleaned up as much as possible and sent everyone home. The following week all Yamaha dealers were supposed to visit, but I canceled that.”
Vosters had imagined a different start as owner of a factory team. Promoter Infront Moto Racing presented a renewed GP calendar this week. The teams face a hell of a job logistically with 18 World Cup matches and the GP of Nations in four months spread across three continents.
“That will be very intense. But in this world you don't hear anyone complaining. When you work with such a crew you notice: there is a passion for those people. No whining or complaining, everyone goes for the sport and works hard. It is a must for the teams and brands that racing continues this year. In April we already had 24 flights that became worthless. We had booked hotels for an entire season. The freight to Argentina had already been paid, just like the rental cars there. You try to get money back, but that doesn't always work. We will rebook as soon as a new date is known. We have to. If you wait too long, everything is fully booked. Now all rebookings are becoming worthless again. We have to deal with it,” he sounds resigned. Vosters has postponed a visit to Yamaha in Japan.
“That would finally happen, but the world has completely changed.”
Posted: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
By: Eindhovens Dagblad
Photo: Yamaha
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