From a press releease issued by Phase One Racing:

R1 for Phase One

World Endurance Champions sign with Yamaha

World Endurance Champions Phase One will run Yamaha R1s in this year’s championship, after concluding a deal with Yamaha. The surprise move by the British team comes after months of negotiations with several manufacturers and marks a return to Yamaha for the team who last raced with them in 1989.

Phase One team manager Russell Benney: “It’s super to be recognised for our successes. The enthusiasm shown by Yamaha is second to none, and the technical input from Wilco Zeelenberg will be a great help. The quality of the parts supplied by Yamaha is fantastic; we’ll be using the YEC (Yamaha Engineering Corporation) kit parts for the engine but doing our own chassis modifications.

“It’s a massive uphill challenge to prepare for the first race at Assen in April, but we’ll be ready. Spondon have been warned to expect a tidal wave of work, and we’ll be testing at Almeria and Nogaro in March. We’ll be running at least one six-hour race distance shakedown before Assen.

“We’ll be starting the season with less weight and more power than at the end of 2003, which is a great place to be. The 2004 YZF-R1 represents a step change in terms of power, and will give us a useful reduction in terms of weight.

“Endurance racing is great way to promote production models,” says Yamaha Motor Racing manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “It requires not only performance and speed but also reliability. For many years the Phase One team has proven itself to be real specialists in the class and naturally we’re pleased that they have chosen the new R1 to defend their world title.”

Phase One will team up riders Stephane Mertens, Dean Ellison and Andi Notman to defend their title in 2004.

Mertens won the World Endurance Championship in 1995 and 2002 and his credits also include two International Boxer Cup championships and second place in the world Superbike championship in 1989. One of the most experienced riders in the paddock, Stephane also runs the Stephane Mertens racing school. Dean Ellison rode with his brother James at key rounds last year, fitting endurance races around his British Superbike schedule. This year will be his first full season with the team.

Andi Notman rode for the Phase One Junior team before moving up to the Phase One seniors for the final round of the championship. Andi is relishing the challenge of riding with the senior team; “I’m glad that my hard work with Phase One last year has paid off, and I’m really looking forward to riding with established riders Stephane and Dean. I think it’s a really good move to go with Yamaha. On paper the new R1 looks like the best bet – the Suzuki was well proven but it’s at the end of its development cycle.”

Estonian Marko Rohtlaan and Brit Henry Fincher will ride for the Phase One Junior team, and Benney is equally confident of their chances; “I think we’ve got a top six team with those two.”

Editorial Note: Phase One Racing won the 2003 FIM Endurance World Championship on a Suzuki GSX-R1000.