Yamaha Motor Europe Unveils 2025 WorldSSP Contenders ahead of R9 Race Debut in Australia.
History will be made in Australia later this month as the all-new Yamaha R9 makes its race debut as the 2025 FIM Supersport World Championship gets underway at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
Ahead of the final two-day test before the first event in Australia, Yamaha Motor Europe has uncovered the colours of the three supported teams set to lead the charge into the ‘Next Generation’ of Supersport with the three-cylinder R9.
Having finished runner-up in the WorldSSP championship for the last two seasons, Italian rider Stefano Manzi will again front Yamaha’s effort with the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate WorldSSP Supported Team. Finishing just 24-points from the eventual champion in 2025, Manzi is hoping to go one step further in 2025 with the new R9 at his disposal. 
Manzi is joined in the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate team by reigning All Japan Road Racing JSB1000 Champion Yuki Okamoto, who prepares to make his debut on the world stage.
The GMT94 Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team will return to a two-bike effort in the 2025 WorldSSP championship with five-time WorldSBK race winner Michael Ruben Rinaldi lining up alongside 2017 WorldSSP champion Lucas Mahias.
Evan Bros Racing will use their world championship-winning pedigree to nurture the next generation of Yamaha talent as they become the BLU CRU Evan Bros Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team for 2025. Dynamic Turkish youngster Can Öncü joins the team alongside Malaysia’s Aldi Satya Mahendra, who steps up to the WorldSSP class after winning the WorldSSP300 championship in 2024 following his second place finish in the 2023 FIM R3 BLUCRU World Cup.
Engineers at Yamaha Motor Europe Motorsport Research and Development have been working for over a year to turn the new R9 into a genuine WorldSSP challenger. The 2025 rider line-up got their first taste of the R9 WorldSSP machine in a shakedown test at Cremona in November, before teams embarked on a thorough pre-season testing programme at various circuits in Spain. Competitive lap times suggest the R9’s potential and with a further two-day test at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit (17-18 February) – there are high hopes for the new project in the opening round, which takes place between 21-23 February.
Andrea Dosoli, Division Manager, Motorsport, Yamaha Motor Europe
“It will be a significant moment when the R9 makes its race debut in Australia later this month. This is an important new model for Yamaha and we have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure we can have a strong a start as possible when the lights go out at Phillip Island. The R6 was a WorldSSP legend and it was winning right until the end, so our goals with R9 are the same – we want to be competitive from the very first season and the combination of the hard work from our engineers and teams with the strong rider line-up gives us confidence ahead of the season’s start. A big thank you to all of the engineers for the substantial effort which has gone into this project so far, and finally I’d like to wish our riders and teams a great season.”
Niccolò Canepa, Road Racing Sporting Manager, Motorsport, Yamaha Motor Europe
“We are very excited to see the R9 compete in its first WorldSSP race weekend. Our diverse rider line-up features a mix of experience and youth, giving us a strong chance in the R9’s first season. Of course, Stefano Manzi finished runner-up in WorldSSP for the last two seasons, so he is keen to fight for the title this year. Michael Ruben Rinaldi comes to WorldSSP from WorldSBK and wants to show his speed straight away, putting his ‘big bike’ experience to use. Can Öncü has been impressive in testing, as has Lucas Mahias – a former World Champion with Yamaha in 2017, so we have reason to be confident given the depth of talent and potential across our three teams. For Yuki Okamoto and Aldi Mahendra, the start of the season is about learning the new bike and class, and in Yuki’s case brand new tracks too.
“Our teams have been testing throughout January and the initial signs are positive as we head to Phillip Island for one final test before the race weekend. As this is a completely new project starting from scratch, it is difficult to make precise targets but our goal is to be as competitive as possible from the very start.”
