End of an Era: Ten Kate Racing and Yamaha Split After Eight Seasons

One of World Supersport's defining partnerships ends — with the Dutch team reportedly heading to Chinese manufacturer QJ Motor for 2027

A partnership that defined the modern era of World Supersport came to an official end on Wednesday, as Yamaha Motor Europe confirmed that its eight-season alliance with Ten Kate Racing will conclude at the end of the 2026 campaign. The announcement, made just days after the season finale at Jerez, closes a chapter that delivered three World Supersport titles, 48 race victories and 99 podium finishes — and sets up one of the most significant team moves of the 2027 silly season.

Ten Kate first joined forces with Yamaha in the Superbike World Championship in 2019, making an instant impression with Frenchman Loris Baz, who carried the Dutch-run YZF-R1 to four podium finishes during the 2020 season. But it was in Supersport where the relationship truly flourished. The team debuted with the YZF-R6 in 2020, with Steven Odendaal finishing sixth in the world championship — a solid foundation for what was about to come.

What came was Dominique Aegerter. The Swiss rider's arrival for the 2021 season sparked a period of dominance rarely seen in the class: 27 victories and 35 podiums from just 44 races, culminating in back-to-back World Championship titles in 2021 and 2022. After Aegerter's departure for WorldSBK, Stefano Manzi took up the baton, finishing runner-up in both 2023 and 2024 before becoming the spearhead of Yamaha's all-new R9 project in 2025. Manzi won the R9's very first race at Phillip Island and never looked back, sealing the championship with 11 wins from 24 races and 20 podium appearances — a fitting coronation for a machine that had become synonymous with the team's blue and white colours.

In 2026, Can Oncu carried the Ten Kate banner, adding one victory and eight podiums to the tally before the curtain fell at Jerez. In total, the partnership produced 48 WorldSSP wins and 99 podiums, plus those four Baz rostrums in the premier class.

"We would like to thank Ten Kate for everything over the past eight seasons," said Andrea Dosoli, Division Manager in the Motorsport Division at Yamaha Motor Europe. "Their record in the Supersport World Championship spoke for itself before they joined Yamaha in 2019, and adding three World Championship titles to the tally has contributed towards Yamaha becoming the most successful manufacturer in WorldSSP history. We are disappointed to see them choose a new direction for 2027 but must thank Ronald and Gerrit Ten Kate and their team for all their efforts over the past eight years."

The phrase "a new direction" did much of the talking in Wednesday's announcement. Neither party has yet confirmed where Ten Kate will go, but paddock reporting has been pointing one way for over a week. Italian outlet Corsedimoto reported on 12 October that the Dutch team has signed a multi-year deal with Chinese manufacturer QJ Motor, beginning in 2027, with Yamaha informed during the Estoril round. If confirmed, it would make Ten Kate the second leading Supersport team in as many years to choose a Chinese manufacturer, following Evan Bros' switch to ZX-Moto.

For QJ Motor, landing Ten Kate would be a statement of intent. The manufacturer made its official WorldSSP debut in 2024, with bike development and racing operations handled by a subsidiary of Manuel Puccetti's team — but Puccetti's squad also took on the factory Kawasaki effort in both Superbike and Supersport from 2025, stretching the operation thin. Reports suggest QJ sounded out several teams at Magny-Cours in early September, from Orelac Ducati to PTR Triumph, before settling on Ten Kate, with exclusivity over the racing programme a key condition. The manufacturer is reportedly building its own racing department at its factory in China, and the ZX-Moto precedent gives the move credibility: with Evan Bros and Valentin Debise, that Chinese manufacturer finished second in the championship in its very first Supersport season.

The human cost of the reshuffle may fall on Raffaele De Rosa, who faces losing his place after three seasons with QJ, while Moto2 rider Zonta van den Goorbergh is tipped as the favourite for the second seat alongside Can Oncu, who is expected to stay with the team for 2027.

The split also leaves Yamaha rebuilding. The Japanese manufacturer is already moving pieces for 2027, with Jeremy Alcoba announced as joining the defending-champion AS BLU CRU squad to race in Yamaha blue next season — a sign the Iwata firm intends to stay at the front even without its most decorated satellite team.

For Ten Kate, the move — if confirmed — would continue a pattern of bold manufacturer changes. Before Yamaha, the team was for years the factory face of Honda in WorldSBK and WorldSSP, famously giving Honda its most recent World Superbike title with James Toseland in 2007. Few teams in the paddock carry that kind of championship pedigree, which is exactly why QJ Motor's reported courtship makes sense: buying credibility is difficult; inheriting it through Nieuwleusen is considerably easier.

The 2026 Supersport season ended at Jerez with Albert Arenas crowned champion, closing the door on the Ten Kate–Yamaha era. When the paddock reconvenes in 2027, the blue-and-white machines in the Supersport field will be fewer — and the green-tinged question will be whether a Chinese factory can turn a Dutch benchmark into a title contender.