'It is a different sort of pressure' - Canepa discusses his new role in Yamaha Motor Europe
11/07/2024 09:25 AM
Niccolò Canepa discussed his new role as the Road Racing Sporting Manager at Yamaha Motor Europe at EICMA.
Last week it was announced that Niccolò Canepa had been appointed the Road Racing Sporting Manager at Yamaha Motor Europe (YME).
After a week in his new role, the Italian was present at EICMA in Milan where he discussed his new challenges and tasks with WorldSBK.com.
"Now the retirement is official I have ended my career," Canepa said. "It was just announced that I will be the Sporting Manager for Road Racing for Yamaha across the next year. So, you will see me in the World Superbike paddock every weekend."
In the 2024 World Superbike Championship Yamaha suffered a winless season. The Japanese manufacturer had a difficult season as they finished fourth in the Manufacturers Championship. Canepa went on to outline that his role will be to help riders to return to the top.
"It is going to be challenging," Canepa admitted. "But I know our riders very well and I have good relationships with the teams. My task will be to help the riders perform at their best and to maintain my relationship with the teams. This will be challenging but I am really looking forward to it."
Canepa will oversee the sporting side of YME in 2025, whereas Riccardo Tisci (YME Motorsport Road Racing Technical Manager) will continue in his role of overseeing the technical side of the project. Canepa spoke very highly of Tisci after Canepa worked with him before when he was still riding.
"Working with Riccardo has been great," Canepa stated. "We have worked together across the last seven or eight years. We know each other very well and he is very talented and he has a lot of new ideas. He has done a great job so far and it will be really interesting to keep working with him. I have full trust in him and technically he is at a really high level."
Finally, Canepa went on to discuss the new levels of pressure he is under in his new role. But he also explained how Andrea Dossoli (YME Motorsport Division Manager) has already taught him so much in his short time on the job.
Canepa said: "It is a different sort of pressure compared to when you race and you put your helmet on. It is a different role and you need to stay focused, and I have to learn a lot. But I am lucky because I get to work with Andrea Dossoli and he has taught me a lot and shares his experiences with me. I believe he is one of the best in this role and I am really lucky to work with him.
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