Niccolò Canepa Interview: Aiming for YART's First 8 Hours Podium

We've already done the first two rounds of the Endurance World Championship (EWC), and in Round 1 we had an issue at the start so we finished 2nd, and then we were running in the lead at Spa but had to retire, so we were unlucky both times. What is for sure is that YART was the fastest team in every session and in both races, so I'm very happy about that. We've shown that we are the strongest team in the EWC and we're looking forward to proving that by achieving a good result at Suzuka, where the level is even higher than normal.

I'm a busy rider this year. I'm a test rider for Yamaha's World Superbike team, I'm competing in the Italian Championship and in MotoE. But all of that is to prepare me for EWC, because that's my top priority. We only have four EWC races this year, and being honest I wish there were more. With so few, I'm trying to ride a lot of bikes elsewhere to keep myself in good shape. Especially this year, I've ridden in a lot of tests where I use different bike settings and different tires, but having so much time on the R1 lets me come ride the YART R1 in perfect condition.

I used to be the youngest rider on the team, but now I'm the most experienced, so my role has changed. Since I have the most total riding experience, and also because I have the widest view on things riding in both the WSBK and the Italian championships, I'm the one responsible for setting up the bike.

I've been together with my teammates for several years now, and we've developed a great relationship where we respect and help each other. Marvin has been developing his talent in the EWC and recently he's gotten even stronger and more physically fit, so he's really fast and really consistent. Karel joined the team and it didn't take him long to get used to the YART bike. He's so fast, especially in qualifying. His style is very smooth so he can be fast and consistent in the races.

Them being so fast raises the level of whole team, and I think one of YART's strengths is that the three of us are close in lap times while other teams' riders have more of a gap in speed. We also have a perfect division of roles, with super-fast riders, plus my experience, and that makes us a strong team. Everyone at YART is working toward the same goal of winning races and the title, and I believe we can be the top placed EWC team at Suzuka.

The Suzuka 8 Hours is the biggest event in the EWC season, and now that it's finally almost here, I'm very excited to race it. This will be the first time in three years, so you could say I've been looking forward to it since 2019. At the official test in July we had a great feeling and really enjoyed riding Suzuka. This was the first time I'd raced the track with our new electronics system, so the main focus was on setup, but the test went well and I was surprised that we could all set very fast lap times. Coming into the race weekend we'll work on confirming our race pace and fuel consumption, and fine-tuning the electronics so we can make another step.

At the 8 Hours we have some strong competition. Jonathan Rea is a six-time world champion in WSBK, and Alex Lowes has won the 8 Hours many times with Yamaha. Add to that fuel consumption, starts, weather...It's hard to imagine what will happen at the 8 Hours, but for sure I expect it to be a very difficult race.

Even so, the R1 and the Bridgestone tires are both working so well. I feel we have all the necessary elements to be able to compete with the world's top riders for the podium. As a team, we have an advantage because we've been racing this bike and tires combination all season long, so we just have to do our best to achieve our goal of a podium finish. We'll be counting on all the Yamaha fans cheering for us.