From a press release issued by Yamaha:

YAMAHA UNVEILS 2003 MOTOGP LINE-UP AND NEW SPONSOR

The Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. has signed a new sponsorship agreement with multinational tobacco company Altadis. The agreement will see two of Altadis’s leading cigarette brands assume title sponsorship of Yamaha’s factory efforts in the 2003 and 2004 MotoGP World Championships.

Yamaha’s in-house factory squad will be re-named the Fortuna Yamaha Team. Fortuna is Spain’s number one cigarette brand and is sold in a number of other countries. The Gauloises Yamaha Team will also benefit from the full technical support of the factory; the Tech 3 managed outfit continuing its sponsorship from Altadis’ international Gauloises brand under the “umbrella” Yamaha-Altadis Agreement. Gauloises’ international expansion is constantly increasing with 65-percent of its sales currently exported.

FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM
* Spaniard Carlos Checa will lead the team’s assault on the MotoGP Championship in his fifth consecutive season with Yamaha, his second season aboard the four-stroke YZR-M1. The hard-charging 30-year-old, who finished fifth in the 2002 classification, will be aiming to use his experience on the M1 to challenge hard for the 2003 title.

* Checa will be joined in the team by newly-crowned GP250 World Champion Marco Melandri. The 20-year-old Italian will make the step up to the premier class on Yamaha’s four-stroke YZR-M1 machine. Melandri is the latest in a long line of 250cc World Champions to graduate to the top class and follows in the footsteps of the current cream of MotoGP including Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi, Valentino Rossi, Olivier Jacque and Daijiro Kato.

GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM
* The team has signed Alex Barros to ride full-factory YZR-M1 machines in 2003. The experienced Brazilian has shown a rich vein of form in 2002, particularly since switching to four-stroke machinery for the final four races.

* The team’s long-term French rider and 2000 season 250cc World Champion, Olivier Jacque, will ride alongside Barros aboard the YZR-M1 in the all-four-stroke class.

COMMENTS ON THE NEW LINE-UP
Mr. Lin Jarvis (Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Racing B.V.)
“Yamaha is very pleased to have cemented a relationship with Altadis. Altadis has been an excellent supporter of MotoGP over the last few years and is an innovative and exciting company. We are looking forward to a fruitful partnership. With both teams covered under this agreement we should be able to achieve Yamaha and Altadis’s mutual objectives both on the racetracks and in the market place.

“Our new rider line-up is strong with a good blend of youth and experience. We are counting on Carlos to fulfil his potential and take the M1 to the next stage in terms of development and results. Melandri is an exciting new signing for the future and he’s proved he has the talent and determination to do well.

“The Gauloises Yamaha Team has also made an excellent new signing in Barros. He has had an incredible end to this season and we are sure that his experience will benefit the team enormously. We are confident that Olivier Jacque will continue to develop on the M1 and show some of the aggressive, race-winning form that we know he’s capable of.”

Davide Brivio (Director, Yamaha Factory Team)
“Our thanks go to Altadis and we look forward to working with them in 2003 and 2004. I am confident that we’ll have two good years.

“Carlos knows what he has to do next year. Yamaha has placed a lot of faith in him and we know that he’s ready to show the balance of consistency and speed needed to fight for the Championship.

“It will be very interesting for all of us to work with Marco and help him to take the next step in his career. He has already achieved a lot at just 20 years of age and we’ll provide him with the best possible environment to adapt quickly to the M1. He’ll be working with an excellent crew including Crew Chief Fiorenzo Fanali whose experience will be invaluable.”

Hervé Poncharal (Team Principal, Gauloises Yamaha Team)
“This is very good for us. The umbrella deal between Yamaha and Altadis further strengthens our relationship with both companies. Gauloises has been a very good partner for us and we are confident that with this new line-up, and with Yamaha and the M1, we’ll be able to deliver the results we are all looking for.

“Alex Barros has been incredible this season and I am sure that he’ll fit in well with our team and adapt quickly to the M1. I think that Olivier too will adapt well to the bike with a full winter test programme and will be running up front where he belongs from the beginning of next season.”

Fabrice Bourgeois (Sponsorship Manager, Altadis)
“This umbrella deal between Altadis and Yamaha is the logical continuation of the ambitious, long-term strategy we have pursued since our arrival in MotoGP in 2000. With our two leading brands, Fortuna and Gauloises, now title sponsors of Yamaha’s two top teams, and our strong trackside presence, Altadis has positioned itself as one of the major players in MotoGP.”

Hiroshi Oosumi (General Manager, Yamaha Motorsports Engineering Division)
“MotoGP has become an even greater focus for Yamaha. We are very satisfied with our 2003 line-up of an excellent sponsor, two top teams and four very capable riders. Our engineers are continuing to work extremely hard to maintain the momentum we have built up with the M1 project and to keep improving our performance.

“Yamaha is also considering the possibility of an additional entry in the 2003 MotoGP championship with a satellite team, although this will depend on a number of factors due to be confirmed shortly.”