Niccolò Canepa, who retired from riding as an all-time FIM Endurance World Championship great following the season-deciding Bol d’Or, has been appointed Road Racing Sporting Manager, Motorsport Division, Yamaha Motor Europe.
The 36-year-old will take over responsibility for FIM Superbike World Championship sporting operations from Andrea Dosoli, who has been appointed Division Manager, Motorsport Division, Yamaha Motor Europe.
Italian Canepa currently holds the role of Rider Coach and Development Rider for Yamaha Motor Europe’s WorldSBK project, which he conducted alongside racing for Yamaha’s official Endurance World Championship teams, first with GMT94 Yamaha and then Yamaha Austria Racing Team.
Having raced in MotoGP, WorldSBK, Moto2, WorldSSP and MotoE, as well as becoming the most successful Italian EWC rider in history, Canepa boasts an illustrious career of world championship motorcycle racing spanning more than 20 years. He first joined Yamaha in 2016, racing in EWC and assuming the role of WorldSBK test rider.
Twice an Endurance world champion with Yamaha, Canepa announced his retirement from professional racing in September, taking part in his final EWC race in the Bol d’Or where he helped Yamaha win the FIM Endurance World Championship for Manufacturers.
In his role as Road Racing Sporting Manager, Canepa will oversee the sporting side of Yamaha Motor Europe’s WorldSBK and EWC efforts, while Riccardo Tisci (YME Motorsport Road Racing Technical Manager) will continue to manage the technical aspects of the projects, with both reporting into Andrea Dosoli, Division Manager, Motorsport.
“We are very happy that while Niccolò is retiring from racing, he will remain in the Yamaha family in the role of Road Racing Sporting Manager,” said Dosoli (above). “After nine seasons with Yamaha racing in EWC and as our Development Rider for WorldSBK, Niccolò knows both the WorldSBK and EWC projects very well. In his role as Rider Coach, he has shown excellent people and management skills, which will serve him well as he steps up to the next level. He already has very strong relationships with our teams, riders, the FIM and championship promoters, so I am confident that Niccolò, together with Riccardo Tisci, who will continue to oversee the technical side of our road racing projects, will make a strong management team.”
Main image: Yamaha Racing
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
