Lin Jarvis to Step Down as Yamaha Team Boss After 26 Years
For over two decades, Lin Jarvis has been the driving force behind Yamaha’s success in the world of MotoGP. But now, at the age of 66, the British team boss has announced that he will be stepping down at the end of the 2022 season.
Under Jarvis’ leadership, Yamaha has achieved a total of eight world titles, with legendary riders such as Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo at the helm. But it was Jarvis’ ability to bring Rossi on board in 2004 that truly solidified Yamaha’s dominance in the mid-2000s.
After a period of dominance for Marc Marquez and Honda, Yamaha regained the crown in 2021 with rising star Fabio Quartararo. And one of Jarvis’ final contributions will be securing Quartararo’s future with Yamaha, as the Frenchman recently signed a new two-year deal.
Fabio Quartararo, Lin Jarvis, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Yamaha
But Jarvis’ work is not yet done. He is currently focused on securing a deal with an independent team, in order to regain the satellite structure that Yamaha gave up after not renewing its deal with RNF for 2023.
“This will be my last season at Yamaha, I will quit at the end of the year,” Jarvis told Kosport Magazine in an exclusive interview. “I will decide later what I’m going to do, what I will dedicate my time to.”
“I started the factory team in 1999. It has been an unusually long period. I’m 66 years old now and I’m starting to get a little tired of travelling.
“I’ve been doing this for 26 years, and it’s quite extraordinary for the same person to lead a project, in a factory, for such a long period.
“The time has come to do something new.
“It’s the ideal time to make this transition. We have to be able to close my chapter and start the new one, in harmony. That is the best solution for both parties.
“We have already identified the candidate who will most likely become my successor, although it has not yet been made official.
“But it will be a man from the Yamaha group, who will take over my position in January next year.”
While Jarvis did not reveal the name of his replacement, sources say that Paolo Pavesio, currently the marketing and racing department director for Yamaha Europe, is the top candidate. Pavesio is well-versed in the world of racing and is a regular at WorldSBK and motocross events for Yamaha.
