Ten Kate Parts Ways with Yamaha After Supersport Titles: Dutch Team Joins Chinese Manufacturer QJ Motor

Yamaha is losing its flagship team in the World Supersport Championship. The Iwata-based manufacturer has officially announced the end of its partnership with Ten Kate Racing after eight seasons, three world titles, 48 wins and 99 podiums in the category.

The Dutch team’s new partner will be China’s QJ Motor, which until now had relied on the support of an independent division of Puccetti Racing, the outfit that serves as Kawasaki’s official team in the production-based championships. This is more than a simple change of supplier. It signals a shift in the balance of power: Chinese manufacturers are no longer content simply to compete in WorldSSP and are beginning to lure away the Japanese manufacturers’ most successful teams.

Yamaha’s statement strikes a diplomatic tone, but the disappointment is clear. Andrea Dosoli, head of Yamaha Motor Europe’s sporting activities, openly admitted that he was saddened by the Ten Kate family’s decision: "We are disappointed to see them take a new path for 2027, but we must thank Ronald and Gerrit Ten Kate and their entire team for their dedication over these eight years".

The Italian manager also highlighted the historic significance of the partnership: "Their track record in the World Supersport Championship already spoke for itself before we began working together in 2019, and the addition of three world titles has helped make Yamaha the most successful manufacturer in the history of the category".

The partnership began in 2019, when Ten Kate returned to WorldSBK with Loris Baz and the R1. Four Superbike podiums followed in 2020, but it was in the middleweight class that the partnership truly made its mark.

With Dominique Aegerter, the Dutch team won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. Stefano Manzi then took over, finishing runner-up in 2023 and 2024 before claiming the world title in 2025, the first season of the new three-cylinder R9. In 2026, Can Öncü continued the team’s run of strong results. Ten Kate, however, had already made history in the production-based championships during the first decade of the century, in both Supersport and Superbike. The Dutch team was behind Honda’s last premier-class world title, won in 2007 with the unforgettable James Toseland.

For Yamaha, this is a double blow. Ten Kate’s departure follows that of Evan Bros Racing, another long-standing team associated with the Japanese manufacturer, which has joined China’s ZXMoto project. Two experienced and successful European teams are turning their backs on Iwata to support the growth of manufacturers still in the development stage.

Trophies, it seems, are no longer enough to guarantee loyalty. The question now is who Yamaha will entrust with its world-champion R9 to defend its WorldSSP dominance in 2027, and how quickly QJ Motor can make the most of the experience of one of the paddock’s most successful teams.

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