Bringing an end to nearly 20 years of association, Tech 3 and Yamaha have announced that 2018 will be their last season as partners in the FIM MotoGP World'Championship. Tech 3 has decided not to renew its partnership with Yamaha for 2019, but the Japanese factory team will continue to provide full support until the end of this season. Tech 3, however, will continue to participate in MotoGP and Moto2 championships and will announce its plans for 2019 and beyond at a later date.
Meanwhile, Yamaha too are yet to decide if they will run a satellite team for 2019, and what kind of a collaboration will it take.
Kouichi Tsuji, GM Motorsports Development Division, YMC and President, Yamaha Motor Racing said, "Very recently we were informed by Hervé Poncharal, the owner of Tech3, that he has decided not to extend his contract with Yamaha to lease YZR-M1 bikes. After discussions with Hervé it was clear that he has chosen to align with a new partner for the future and therefore, regretfully, we were obliged to respect and accept his decision."
Rumours are strong that KTM might have offered a strong proposition to Tech 3 to use its latest MotoGP bike. However, there have been confirmation on this. MotoGP promoter Dorna has been pushing for each factory to supply at least one satellite team. If the Tech 3-KTM partnership goes through, it would leave only Suzuki and Aprilia without a satellite team along with Yamaha. That said, Yamaha could be joining hands with Marc VDS, as per the new rumours.
Commenting on the end of a two decades old partnership, Tech 3 Team Manager Herve Poncharal said, "Tech3 is a small company, which has to think about the future and has to weigh the different options. We've been offered a deal, that includes something we've been waiting for almost since we started with Tech3 and I couldn't say no. But obviously, we are the Monster Yamaha Team until the last lap of the Valencia GP 2018. Johann Zarco and Hafizh Syahrin will be fighting for top positions and without a doubt, Yamaha can count on us to be a loyal performant partner. One more time a huge thank you for Yamaha's support. I hope they can carry on and have the success they deserve and eventually find a partner to replace Tech3."
Adding further, Tsuji said, "The end of such a successful partnership is always a bit sad, as it also marks the end of a long-term relationship. We are very grateful for Hervé's loyalty and support to the Yamaha brand and for the excellent results obtained throughout that time. We will continue to provide our full support to the Tech3 team and their riders throughout the 2018 season, while we simultaneously evaluate our options for an alternative team in the MotoGP World Championship class for 2019 and beyond."
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 have already announced that its 2017 star Johann Zarco will be headlining this season, and will be joined by Malaysian rider Hafizh Syahrin, who was recently confirmed to take ride the second bike. Syahrin steps in for Jonas Folger who had to withdraw from the current season due to health issues. Both riders will be using the 2016 Yamaha M1 and not the 2017 version which is said to have a lot of issues. Yamaha factory team riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales will be riding the 2018 M1, which is close to the 2016 chassis..
