Marvin Fritz Interview: YART's Strongest Ever Team Up Against the Factories

It was a good start to the 2022 season. At Round 1 we actually had some bad luck and finished second, one lap behind the leader, but just to finish the race was great for us. Crossing the finish line and bringing it home was one of our goals and it was important to start the season with solid points.

At Round 2 in Spa YART was really fast. We had a problem in the first half of the race and lost a lot of time, but then we caught up and took the lead. In the morning we had to retire from the race, but it was good that we got points for the 8th and 16th hours. After two rounds, we're 30 points behind the leader, so we still have a chance for the title going into Round 3.

At this point in my career, I've gained a lot of experience. In the last few years I've run quite a few WSBK races, like this year when I replaced Tamburini in Estoril. I got 16th in the first race, crashed out of the Superpole race, and then in Race 2 I finished 17th because of an electronics problem, so the results weren't quite what I wanted. I couldn't get over difference between the Bridgestones in EWC and Pirellis in WSBK, but it wasn't just that. Really though, it was a great experience and I learned a lot, so I plan to ride [in WSBK] two more times this year.

I think my time at YART that has made me grow, and a lot of that was thanks to Niccolò. He has a lot of experience and I've learned a lot from him. He's also a really great guy, and we have some beers and hang out when we're not racing. I'm also good friends with Karel. I'm dating his sister and so we're at their home in Brno a lot. He's also a nice person, so we train and do stuff together off the track.

The three of us have a close relationship off the track, but we're all pro riders and we want to be the best, so we try to help each other to do that. This is different to sprint racers who normally are racing only for themselves. The three of us in YART work together to get better. For example, if one of us is faster in a certain section, we always share information and try to improve. Sometimes we ride together on track to work on things like this.

I had a very good feeling at the official test in July. We were lucky because we thought the whole test would be wet and we wouldn't have any dry time, but we did, so we made a lot of progress on bike setup and just getting used to Suzuka again. I'm happy with my lap times. In one run on the first day, I had a new tire on the rear, and the front tire had already done 25 laps, but I could run almost the same pace as in qualifying. This is proof that the whole package is improving, rider, machine, and tires. On day two I got into the 2:06s, which is great because I never imagined I could go this fast. But even that isn't our limit. We still have some areas where we can improve, and with Yamaha's support, we can go even faster.

In the race, we have to finish in front of our rival EWC teams to win the title. Besides that, I really want to stand on the podium at the Suzuka 8 Hours. I know it will be difficult because of the factory teams, but for me we are the best team right now. I think this year's team is the strongest in YART's history. All three of us can ride at a similar pace, we are very consistent, and we have no issues at night. I think we have a good chance to take a first-ever kind of result for YART, and that would be a podium finish. We just have to fight as hard as we can. I'm really looking forward to the race weekend.