Forward Racing to have Yamaha M1’s for 2016?
Could Forward Racing be ready to step up their Yamaha effort from leasing engines to a full Yamaha M1 for 2016?
Regulations now say that factories are allowed up to six full prototype bikes, as opposed to the current four machines teams are entitled to. Yamaha currently run their full factory Movistar Yamaha team, and then lease bikes to the Monster Energy Tech3 team. They also lease their engines to the Forward Racing team, but are have no electronic information with the Italian team.
However, with new tyres and new ECU’s being forced upon teams for 2016, Yamaha’s electronics package – which Forward don’t use – will be considered redundant. With two years of data on the basic ECU, the Forward Racing team could have increased importance to Yamaha as they move forward with the new phase of MotoGP.
Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, recently said that he thinks the ideal amount of riders for full Yamaha machinery is four. However, in a recent interview with speedweek.com, he refused to dismiss the notion of the Forward Yamaha team taking M1’s for 2016.
“Let’s say, our most important mission here is to win the MotoGP World Championship. Four machines for this project the perfect combination,” he said.
“We have started the program with Forward for two years, so they can compete in the Open class. They only wanted to lease only engine packages; Honda on the other hand sold their 2014 motorcycles. Both manufacturers gave contribution to keep the championship alive in a difficult moment with small participation numbers.
“We now continue this concept with six bikes in the future. We’ve installed a good system, where we are able to manage this system well with engineering support. We could therefore easily go on with Forward in the future. Of course, the conditions must be correct; they must have a value for Yamaha and for the team. This is important.
Jarvis went on to say that he has already had discussions with the Forward Racing team in Barcelona, and he will continue discussing the options for both them, and Yamaha moving forward.
“We are already in discussions with Forward Racing for next season. There was also meetings back in Barcelona. In the near future we should decide together how we are expanding and continuing this program,” concluded the Englishman.
Photos via Forward Racing