Yamaha’s world is falling apart: second top Supersport team moves to Chinese brand

Since 2019, it has been the Evan Bros and Ten Kate teams that have secured victories, podium finishes and titles for Yamaha. First, Randy Krummenacher and Andrea Locatelli clinched the World Championship title for the Italian outfit, then the Dutch team triumphed twice with Dominique Aegerter. In 2023 and 2024, Aruba Ducati won the Supersport World Championship with Nicolo Bulega and Adrian Huertas, and in 2025 it was Ten Kate again with Stefano Manzi.

In October 2025, Evan Bros decided to switch to the Chinese brand ZX Moto; a year later, Ten Kate also parted ways with Yamaha and signed a multi-year contract with the Chinese giant QJ Motor.

Recollections of the early days of the Japanese manufacturers

What is happening now is reminiscent of the time when the Japanese manufacturers were increasingly outpacing their European counterparts. Honda was founded in 1946, Suzuki in 1952, Kawasaki in 1954 and Yamaha in 1955. In 1961, Tom Phillis (125cc) and Mike Hailwood (250cc) became the first world champions on the circuit riding Japanese motorbikes, both on Hondas. In 1962, the German Ernst Degner secured Suzuki’s first title in the 50cc class, whilst Phil Read triumphed for Yamaha for the first time in the 250cc class in 1964. And in 1969, Kawasaki finally achieved victory too, with Dave Simmonds in the 125cc class.

In the Superbike class, Honda won a total of six riders’ world championships between its inception in 1988 and James Toseland’s last title in 2007 (with Ten Kate, incidentally). Suzuki won in 2005 with Troy Corser, whilst Yamaha won twice: in 2009 with Ben Spies and in 2021 with Toprak Razgatlioglu. As well as the six consecutive titles from 2015 to 2020 with Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki also shone in 2013 with Tom Sykes and in 1993 with Scott Russell. In the Supersport World Championship, all four major Japanese manufacturers have also been crowned champions at least once.

Word from Evan Bros and Ten Kate is that their new partner from China is offering them opportunities “the sort you only get once in a lifetime”. This contrasts with Yamaha’s statement: “We are not looking for a service provider, but for a partner who shares the financial risks with us and seeks out sponsors.” Two approaches that could hardly be more different.

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There is a spirit of optimism surrounding the motorbike brands from China

There is undoubtedly a sense of excitement surrounding the young brands from the Middle Kingdom. Valentin Debise, who became Supersport World Championship runner-up and won six races with ZX Moto in their very first year, is full of superlatives when the conversation turns to the burgeoning enthusiasm for motor racing in China.

The Chinese firms’ plan is clear: they want to outdo their Japanese rivals. If they invest accordingly, acquire expertise and form alliances with the best teams, they will succeed.

ZX Moto’s successes are just the beginning – not to mention Kove’s World Championship title in the Supersport 300 class last year. I have absolutely no doubt that Ten Kate will soon turn the SRK 800 RS into a formidable motorbike, by the time the new homologation model is released in 2028 at the latest. Nor would I be surprised if Gerrit and Ronald Ten Kate have a well-thought-out business plan in mind, and if, in the medium term, we see not only QJ production motorbikes in the showrooms in Nieuwleusen, but also a department for specialist racing parts, such as those Ten Kate currently sells via the Pro Shop for Yamaha. Ten Kate Racing Products has always been synonymous with clever technical solutions.

Yamaha loses its two best riders

This year, Yamaha is supporting three teams in the Supersport World Championship: alongside Ten Kate (Öncü, Okamoto), these are AS (Arenas, Mahendra) and GMT94 (Garcia, Mahias). Of these, only the latter two will remain; Yamaha will not be filling Ten Kate’s place.

This also means that by 2027 there will no longer be five riders on Yamaha contracts; currently, all but former world champion Lucas Mahias have one, but this will be reduced to just three. Of these, Roberto Garcia (at GMT94) and Aldi Mahendra (at the world champion team AS) are already confirmed; a fast rider is still being sought.

It’s a bitter blow for Yamaha: with champion Albert Arenas and the current World Championship third-placed rider Can Öncü, the two strongest riders are dropping out of the line-up. This is due to an unfortunate sequence of events. Yamaha had an option on Öncü until the end of September, but was unable to exercise it because, at that point, there was no team place where they could have accommodated the Turkish rider – it was already becoming apparent that the Ten Kate team would be disbanding. In early October, Arenas decided to switch to the Superbike World Championship, although this move is not yet confirmed. This would have left a place open for Öncü at AS, but the 23-year-old had already reached an agreement with Ten Kate and QJ Motor.