De Reuver makes promising Yamaha debut
By TMX Archives on 20th Nov 06
New 2007 factory Yamaha Motocross team rider Marc de Reuver completed his first laps with his works YZ450FM in Italy last week and then guided a production 450cc YZ to victory in the high-profile RedBull Knockout beach race in Holland at the weekend.
The 23 year old De Reuver, who finished fifth in the 2006 MX2 World Championship and makes his debut in the MX1 class for the 2007 Grand Prix campaign, completed his first Yamaha test in Italy, where he spent 3 very positive days with his new team. "We started testing with the stock bike, moved onto the kitted version and then the factory YZ450FM. More or less right from the beginning I was happy with what I was riding,” commented Marc. "The Yamaha is very different from what I had before and it was up to the quality of what I was expecting. Everyone knows the level and reputation of the Rinaldi team so it was great to start working with them.”
"I found the group very professional,” he continued. "There were six people working for me and I have never had something like that before. There was an engine specialist, someone for the suspension and basically whatever I needed. Every day we would have a meeting altogether and for me the whole environment was very productive and efficient.”
"We rode on a hard pack course then went to a slightly sandier circuit before going to Rinaldi's track, which is long and narrow and very technical. The strongest part of the bike for me was the handling. The Yamaha feels very stable and I felt like I always knew what the bike was doing.”
As the Netherlands' top rider, De Reuver will retain a high profile alongside fellow new Yamaha recruit Josh Coppins next season and will push to be the first Dutchman to claim victory in the MX1 class since the inception of the category in 2004. "I feel very confident and for sure I know that I can be inside the top five, I have the right tools to do the job,” he commented.
Racing Manager Carlo Rinaldi was enthused by De Reuver's early efforts. "We started the test with the production bike and Marc was satisfied already from the beginning, he commented that it felt comfortable and safe. We then went forward with a step by step process to build the bike for him using the materials we had. We had a good few days and found a decent base from which to get the bike ready for next season. Watching Marc ride was very positive and I was impressed with how he took to the Yamaha.”
After his promising first test-session, De Reuver travelled back to his homeland for his first race outing on a Yamaha in the RedBull Knockout race, that took place on November 12 on the beach of Scheveningen. In a field numbering near 500 competitors, including recognised names such as Steve Ramon (3rd in the 2006 MX1-GP) and ex-GP star Erik Eggens, De Reuver showed his superiority in the sand and guided a stock YZ450F to first position to earn his Yamaha spurs. "There was quite a bit of pressure because we had made some commercials that had been going out on Dutch TV from October and then Steve Ramon entered the race at the last minute,” he recalled. "It was good fun though; I love beach races. The long straight was a bit dangerous and I knew the beach specialists would be quick, but the YZ450F I rode from Yamaha Motor Netherlands was well prepared and overall it was an exciting experience.”