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Kohta Nozane to Continue in WorldSBK in 2022

October 11, 2021

October 11, 2021―Kohta Nozane, who is currently contesting the 2021 season of the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) will remain in the series for 2022 as well.

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. has supported Nozane throughout his racing career, from his time riding for Yamaha’s youth development team and factory team in the All Japan Road Race Championship to his rookie season in WorldSBK this year, and the company will continue supporting his challenge in the championship in 2022. An additional goal of this support is for Nozane to become a role model for riders seeking to move up from racing in Asia to the world stage.

After securing his first title in the All Japan Road Race Championship’s premier JSB1000 class in 2020, Nozane embarked on a new journey in 2021 by moving to Europe to compete in WorldSBK, the pinnacle series of production-based motorcycle racing.

In his rookie season, the Japanese rider has had to adapt to the different tires used in WorldSBK, a YZF-R1 set up differently than his previous All Japan-spec machine, as well as taking to many circuits for the first time with little to no previous experience to call on. So far, his race starts have worked to his advantage and with 11 rounds complete, Nozane has taken 51 points and currently sits 15th in the standings. His best finish to date is a 9th in the Superpole Race in the opening round at Motorland Aragon while he also recorded another top-10 finish in Race 2 at Round 9 held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.