Poncharal explains Tamada move

Moving quickly to find a fitting replacement for Carlos Checa in the Tech 3 Yamaha team for next season, Herve Poncharal yesterday confirmed that he has snapped up Japanese star Makoto Tamada to ride for the team in 2007. The Frenchman spoke to motogp.com after breaking the news, explaining his decision to put his faith in Tamada.

"After Carlos decided to leave the team, we quickly thought about Makoto Tamada, because he's a brilliant rider and he's been racing on different tyre makes in the past few seasons, so his experience should help Dunlop's tyre development program. He might have had two tough seasons but we can't forget the fact that he's a race winner. I believe that a change of setting and a fresh challenge will be positive for him."

Losing Checa, who has finished the season well, threw Poncharal's plans up in the air, and he still has more work to do looking for a second rider for 2007.

"Having a team with Tamada and Checa would have been perfect, but now we'll have to think about getting a young rider with strong potential. However we still have to finalize plans for a second bike for next year and that's why I'll be meeting the bosses of Yamaha during this weekend."