Meet Dirk Saelen, Yamaha team coordinator
The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team has not only strengthened itself on a sporting level with the recruitment of Rick Elzinga. Another step forward was also taken organizationally. Dirk Saelen (56) comes on board as team coordinator.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team has had some wonderful years, with numerous GP victories and the world title in 2021. But team boss Hans Corvers – an experienced businessman – knows better than anyone that standing still means going backwards. “From a purely sporting point of view we are in a good position. Jago Geerts and Thibault Benistant still had contracts with us. We also recruited Rick Elzinga, European 250cc champion, as the third rider. A trio we expect a lot from. We still have steps to take on an organizational and administrative level. Team manager Michele Lavetti and I had to do way too much paperwork last season, often between soup and fries. That had to be different and better.”
Much experience
And that's where Dirk Saelen comes into the story. The Balenaar ran his own team (Diga) from 1998 to 2020 and therefore has a lot of motocross baggage. “We sat together a few times last season,” says Corvers. “I had a very good feeling about those conversations. Dirk has a lot of experience in motocross. He knows what it takes to run a team. And voila, one thing led to another.”
So Saelen starts working as a team coordinator. “At Diga I did almost everything myself. So I know what it is to run a team, even if it was mainly at European level. The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team is of course of a completely different magnitude. But that doesn't scare me. On the contrary. I ended up in an ambitious top team, which at the same time still has a family character. The first weeks have already gone great. There is a very good synergy between Hans, Michele and me. That is important, because we want to take the team to an even higher level.”
"Beats. We make no secret of our ambitions: we want the world title. Individually and with the manufacturers,” Corvers speaks clearly.
Geerts, Benistant and Elzinga are currently in full preparation for the new season. On February 12 they will compete in their first preparatory race, in Ponte a Egola, Italy. One month later, on March 12, the World Cup starts in Villa La Angostura, Argentina.
Posted: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Gallery: Yamaha
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