Yamaha’s MotoGP plans not affected by credit crunch

Yamaha Motor Company president Takashi Kajikawa has confirmed that the Japanese factory will continue to support the MotoGP world championship, despite the global economic crisis.

In a statement released to coincide with the launch of Yamaha’s 2009 factory MotoGP team, Kajikawa inevitably touched on the global economic crisis, which has hit Japanese business severely.

With Honda pulling out of Formula One, Subaru withdrawing from world rally and Kawasaki recently becoming the first casualty of the credit crunch in MotoGP, Kajikawa said: “2008 was also a year that saw a dramatic worsening of the world economy, which left Yamaha Motor in an extremely difficult and adverse business environment.

“Needless to say, the severity of this environment also affects our motor sports activities.

“However, we believe that the MotoGP is an especially important competition for sharing Kando (excitement and deep satisfaction) with Yamaha fans around the world, and as a “Kando Creating Company,” this is a core part of our corporate mission.

“Therefore, we have decided to continue our participation in MotoGP in 2009 despite the extremely harsh business environment we face.

“As we carry on our MotoGP campaign in 2009, I hope that we can continue to count on the support and cooperation of our sponsors and all the people involved in this great motor sports competition.”

As well as its factory team line-up with Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha also supports a satellite team with British rider James Toseland and Colin Edwards riding for the Tech 3 squad.