TECH 3 YAMAHA:

The Tech3 Team is delighted to announce that Raffaele de Rosa and Yuki Takahashi will spearhead the French squad’s exciting new Moto2 world championship project in 2010.

Italian rider de Rosa joins Tech3 having emerged as one of the brightest young talents in Grand Prix racing in 2009. He finished sixth in this year’s 250cc world championship and a series of eye-catching performances earned him the coveted Rooki e of the Year title.

The 22-year-old joins Tech3 full of confidence and ready for the exciting challenge ahead after a stunning finish to the season saw him claim third place in Phillip Island and Valencia.

Takahashi continues a long line of Japanese riders to work with Herve Poncharal’s team and follows the likes of Shinya Nakano and Makoto Tamada in riding for Tech3. The 25-year-old finished fifth in the 2008 world 250cc championship and has won two races.

The Tech3 Team captured another sought after signature for its Moto2 project this week with Poncharal delighted to confirm Daniele Romagnoli will fill the role of de Rosa’s crew chief. Romagnoli brings a wealth of Grand Prix experience and knowledge to Tech3 having worked as a crew chief for Yamaha’s factory MotoGP team. Recently he worked as Jorge Lorenzo’s Team Manager in 2008 and 2009 and is relishing the prospect of playing a key role in the development of the new Tech3 Moto2 bike.

Gary Reynders, who recently worked as crew chief for Colin Edwards and James Toseland in MotoGP, will move to the role of Takahashi’s crew chief.

The Tech3 Team will debut its new Moto2 contender with de Rosa in Valencia at a two-day test on December 9/10. Takahashi is due to embark on a rigorous winter training regime before making his debut in early 2010.

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager

“I am delighted that Tech3 has been able to attract such high calibre talent for our new and exciting Moto2 project. Raffaele is without doubt one of the hottest young talents we’ve seen for a long time and I am proud and excited about the prospect of working with him. I presented the Rookie of the Year award to him last weekend and he has impressed me a l ot in 2009 and I can’t wait to start working with him. I have always looked at our Moto2 team as an opportunity to develop young riders who may one day show they deserve a chance to move into MotoGP with us. I genuinely believe Raffaele has the potential to be a MotoGP rider in the future. I’m also thrilled that Yuki has joined Tech3.

The French and Japanese connection at Tech3 has always worked well, particularly with Shinya Nakano, who we had a long and successful relationship with. I’ve no doubt that Yuki’s arrival will be very positive for us. He has had a lot of bad luck recently but I can see he is very determined and highly motivated to be part of our project. I’m also very happy that Daniele Romagnoli has agreed to join us. He has a top profile but more importantly he brings a lot of technical expertise and experience with him. I’ve no doubt that he will be a huge asset and his input will be vital in helping us develop the new bike.”