The Pirelli Dutch Round at the iconic TT Circuit Assen marks the resumption of the 2023 FIM Supersport World Championship season after a six-week break and it also marks Ten Kate Racing Yamaha’s home round. With this in mind, and with an eye on the future, the Dutch team have unveiled a special livery for the Dutch Round to mark the second phase of their Motonext project as they at sustainability in motorsport with three different initiatives announced ahead of racing at Assen.
Last year, in Catalunya, the team introduced a special fairing on their machines made out of bioflax and 2023 marks the introduction of the second generation of the bioflax “body” on their Yamaha YZF R6 machines. The second generation bioflax is stronger and lighter than its predecessor while the hardener is made up of a majority of natural products, with more than 50% of it made up of natural products. The bioflax has similar properties to carbon but with a more than 90% reduction of carbon dioxide during production.
While there has been another development with the fairing, there have also been innovations on the engine. Titled the Engine Oil Reco Unit as part of the Motonext project, this allows the oil to be used again once it has been cleaned rather than being disposed of to be destroyed. Ten Kate Racing explained in their press release: “The oil used during the WorldSBK race weekend in the Supersport bikes of Ten Kate Racing, for example, can be used again the next day at the Yamaha R3 Cup. A quick calculation shows that, when implemented in the WorldSBK championship alone, this results an oil reduction of thirty thousand litres.”
The third innovation comes from braking with the goal of reducing the particulates released when braking as well as carbon dioxide being released during the production of brake pads. Brake specialists SBS have been working on this and have designed copper- and nickel-free brake pads, as well as antinomy-free in the case of ceramic brakes. The newly-designed brake pads have performance benefits in terms of stopping power and a more stable braking function.
To celebrate these three sustainability innovations, Ten Kate Racing Yamaha’s two R6 machines will run a special livery at Assen for riders Stefano Manzi and Jorge Navarro. The traditional blue features still but part of the fairing will be coloured in brown with Motonext branding as the team looks to win again on home soil. They have four consecutive wins across the last two seasons, all courtesy of double WorldSSP Champion Dominique Aegerter who now races in WorldSBK.
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Source: WorldSBK.com