Tech 3 confirm Moto2 line-up

Raffaele de Rosa and former Scot Honda MotoGP rider Yuki Takahashi will ride for the new Tech 3 Moto2 squad in 2010.

Italian de Rosa finished sixth in this year’s 250cc world championship and a series of eye-catching performances earned him the coveted Rookie of the Year title. The 22-year-old joins the French squad having ended the season in style with two third places in the final three races in Phillip Island and Valencia.

Takahashi, who lost his ride in the Scot Honda squad after the Dutch GP in Assen in late June, has also been confirmed in the Tech 3 Moto2 squad. The 25-year-old finished fifth in the 2008 world 250cc championship and has won two races. The Tech 3 Team will debut its new Moto2 contender with de Rosa in Valencia at a two-day test on December 9/10.

Takahashi is due to embark on a rigorous winter training regime before making his debut in early 2010. Team boss Herve Poncharal said: “I am delighted that Tech 3 has been able to attract such high calibre talent for our new and exciting Moto2 project. Raffaele is without doubt one of the hottest young talents we’ve seen for a long time and I am proud and excited about the prospect of working with him.

“I presented the Rookie of the Year award to him last weekend and he has impressed me a lot in 2009 and I can’t wait to start working with him. I have always looked at our Moto2 team as an opportunity to develop young riders who may one day show they deserve a chance to move into MotoGP with us.

“I genuinely believe Raffaele has the potential to be a MotoGP rider in the future. I’m also thrilled that Yuki has joined Tech 3. The French and Japanese connection at Tech 3 has always worked well, particularly with Shinya Nakano, who we had a long and successful relationship with.

“I’ve no doubt that he his arrival will be very positive for us. He has a lot of bad luck recently but I can see he is very determined and highly motivated to be part of our project.”