Yamaha Motor Finance (YMF) and Yamaha Motor Insurance (YMI) have repositioned their support for the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) by redirecting its sponsorship behind the series’ feeder categories.

The YMF/YMI partnership will continue into 2019 with the Yamaha Motor Insurance Australian Supersport 300 Championship and their return to the Yamaha Motor Finance R3 Cup/

Providing ideal stepping-stones into the larger classes, the two feeder categories will continue to produce exciting, elbow-to-elbow racing as the ultimate support act during selected rounds of the 2019 ASBK season.

“We support the philosophy of encouraging youngsters into the sport so they can step up through the R-family range and become a Yamaha customer for life,” said Yamaha Motor Australia director and COO Brad Ryan.

“Yamaha Motor Finance offers packages that gets riders onto an R3 Cup bike with minimal hassle. Finance is often a barrier for young racers to fulfil their potential, we want Australian riders to know that help is not far away.”

Motorcycling Australia CEO Peter Doyle commented: “Having a relatively low-cost pathway for young riders to learn is so important for the growth of motorcycling in Australia, and it’s only with the support of companies like YMF/YMI that we are able to bring young talent through the ranks.”

The ASBK heads to Phillip Island in Victoria this weekend for the first and only official pre-season test, with the opening round set to take place at the venue on 21-24 February in conjunction with the FIM Motul Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK).