Loris Baz wins European Superstock 600 Championship with Yamaha

The fifteen year-old star-in-the-making Loris Baz (Yamaha France Junior Team) took a hard fought second place in Saturday’s European Superstock 600 Championship race, and in taking the podium he also took the championship in his rookie year.

The close race was a constant battle with fellow Yamaha riders Linfoot and Gines, and Baz was only outbraked by Linfoot on the entrance to the final corners of the Magny-Cours circuit. Baz happily shares the success of his championship victory with Martial Garcia’s Yamaha France Junior Team, who have provided strong support and a fast R6 Yamaha to Loris all season long, providing him with the opportunity to shine on track.

This season the young rider won 3 races out of 8, at Valencia, Monza and Brands Hatch. He finished second at the Nürburgring, at Brno and finally this weekend at Magny-Cours. He also took third at Misano, giving him a respectable 7 podiums in 9 races.

Loris Baz (Yamaha France Junior Team) 
“This race was for me like the others. We are all young, so the start is always hot. I didn't want to take chances. I had a good security margin. On my pit board, I saw that at one point I was 3rd and Bussolotti 7th. Then I was 4th and he was 5th. So I passed two riders to have a good gap. In the last lap, I could have tried to win, but I wanted to play it safe. Thank you to my team, to Yamaha, to Jean-Claude Olivier, to my parents, to all the people who help me and to my fan club who came all the way from Spain."


This is now the third consecutive European Superstock 600 Championship win for Yamaha as the manufacturer continues to dominate the class.Year on year the challenge of competitor machines has been met with a further leap forward by the legendary YZF R6 taking it to the next level again.

Straight out of the box, the new for 2008 R6 has proved itself a formidable track weapon in the hands of the talented young riders of the future, featuring chassis and swing-arm improvements which raised corner speed and improved handling. The YCC-I system improved performance, particularly mid-range, again offered serious advantages to the riders on track.The Superstock class itself is as close to production as possible in racing, only minor differences separate the winning R6 on track and the road going Supersport machine found in the Yamaha dealer.