D'Antin signs Nakano, Abe demoted to test rider.

Yamaha Motor Co. and Team d'Antin have announced the continuation of their partnership in the MotoGP World Championship. The new agreement will see the Yamaha/d'Antin outfit enter the 2003 season with a further option for 2004.

The satellite team will contest next year's championship as a single entry with new signing Shinya Nakano, aboard a factory-supported 2003 spec four-stroke YZR-M1.

However, d'Antin's existing rider Norick Abe has been demoted to test rider to make room for his incoming countryman.

Nakano, the 2001 MotoGP 'Rookie of the Year', recently signed a one-year agreement with the Spanish-based team and is looking forward to continuing the form he discovered in the closing stages of the 2002 season after switching to the race winning M1 four-stroke in Sepang, Malaysia.

The 25-year-old, who made his GP debut as a wildcard rider in the 1998 Suzuka GP250 World Championship round, will be the fifth and final full-time MotoGP four-stroke Yamaha entry [alongside Checa, Melandri, Jacque and Barros] in the 2003 line-up.

Nakano's international GP history began in 1999 when the Japanese star finished fourth in the 250cc championship, aboard the Yamaha YZR250 - claiming 'Rookie of the Year' in the process.

He then progressed through to challenge for the title the following year, only to miss out on the number one plate by a mere 0.014 seconds to his own Yamaha Tech 3 teammate, Olivier Jacque, at the final round.

Natural progression saw Nakano move into the MotoGP class in 2001, aboard the YZR500, clinching his second 'Rookie of the Year' title, and a solid fifth place in the final all-two-stroke championship.

But Nakano's 2003 race seat comes at the expense of former GP winner Norick Abe, who has played the role as lead rider with the Luis d'Antin owned outfit since its inception, and has had a history with Yamaha in the premier class dating back to 1995.

Abe, short of alternatives with most other race seats decided, will continue with Yamaha as a YZR-M1 test and development rider.

Although the final program is still to be confirmed it is likely that Abe will also contest selected rounds of the 2003 championship, likely to include his home races in Suzuka and Motegi, as an official factory Yamaha wild-card entry.

Although surely diasappointed to lose out to Nakano, Abe's crash in his first outing on the M1 at Phillip Island proved the two-stroke ace has much to learn about four-stroke machinery.

Abe will hope that his development year will give him that four-stroke seat time, and if he can impress in his wild-card rides he could well secure a race ride for 2004.

Nakano had lost his seat alongside Jacque at the Gauloises sponsored Tech 3 team to ex-Honda rider Alex Barros.