MotoGP
More technical strength for MYT in 2001
The Marlboro Yamaha Team's challenge for the 2001 500 World Championship is to be further reinforced with the arrival of a new team director. Hiroya Atsumi, who first worked in GP racing during the early eighties and currently heads YZR500 engine ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Marlboro Yamaha Team's challenge for the 2001 500 World Championship is to be further reinforced with the arrival of a new team director.
Hiroya Atsumi, who first worked in GP racing during the early eighties and currently heads YZR500 engine development, will strengthen the factory-owned outfit's technical resources, giving Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa a best-ever shot at winning bike racing's premier crown.
"After reviewing the Marlboro Yamaha Team's past two seasons, we decided we should simplify the way the team works and that's why we have appointed Atsumi-san to this new position," said Shuji Sakurada, Yamaha YZR500 project leader. "Atsumi is very experienced in machine development and as a senior member of staff he will be able to speed communications between team and factory, getting the riders what they want as quickly as possible. He has worked for Yamaha for a long time, 20 years in fact, and I really trust him."
Atsumi joined the factory's roadracing department in 1980 and worked his first GP season in 1981, as mechanic to factory Yamaha rider Barry Sheene. Over the following years he worked with several other Yamaha GP legends, including Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Tadahiko Taira. In 1990 he returned to Japan to become development chief for the All-Japan Championship F3 engine and in '95 he switched back to two-strokes, working as YZR500 engine development chief.
"I am very honoured to take this new responsibility for Yamaha," said Atsumi. "And I am also very excited about returning to the Grand Prix world. The Marlboro Yamaha Team gets stronger all the time and we are determined to win next year's World Championship."
Next year will be a very special season. Yamaha will field more YZR500 riders than ever before, for what will be the final year of two-stroke dominated racing, with four-strokes joining the fun from 2002.
"It will be a very important and very exciting year," added Sakurada. "We will be extremely busy, trying to win the title with our 500 two-stroke, while also developing our new four-stroke GP bike."
The new appointment does not affect the responsibilities of Lin Jarvis, managing director of Yamaha Motor Racing B.V., who will continue to look after the team's strategic planning and contractual and financial affairs, or those of team manager Geoff Crust, who remains responsible for day-to-day running of the Amsterdam-based squad.
k
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Australian GP Team Repsol YPF Honda official practice
Next article Australie GP Michelin report (French)
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Kenny Roberts Jr.
Daytona 200 cancelled for 2015
Other bike
Other bike
Daytona 200 cancelled for 2015
AMA, Wayne Rainey start a new U.S. motorcycle road racing series
AMA
AMA
AMA, Wayne Rainey start a new U.S. motorcycle road racing series
Ducati Team heads to Argentina for next MotoGP round
MotoGP
MotoGP
Ducati Team heads to Argentina for next MotoGP round
Latest news
How Kyle Larson can lose the NASCAR Cup championship at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
29 min
How Kyle Larson can lose the NASCAR Cup championship at Homestead
Signatech exploring options to remain in Hypercar after Alpine/Geely deal falls through
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
33 min
Signatech exploring options to remain in Hypercar after Alpine/Geely deal falls through
Marc Marquez on Qatar GP: 'I would rather be somewhere else'
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
49 min
Marc Marquez on Qatar GP: 'I would rather be somewhere else'
How raw talent Rafa Camara feels ahead of 'very surprising' F1 home debut in Brazil
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
How raw talent Rafa Camara feels ahead of 'very surprising' F1 home debut in Brazil
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe