7 Manufacturers Represented in 21 Permanent Teams

Riders and Teams from 17 Nations

The full list of permanent teams competing in the World Endurance Championship has now been confirmed by the FIM. The 21 teams who will take part in the full championship represent seven manufacturers - Aprilia, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, Suzuki and Yamaha - and 17 nations. Riders and teams from Europe, Australia and Japan pack the entry list, with Germany and Italy the most frequently represented.

Yamaha - in the shape of French team GMT94 - took the World Endurance Championship crown last year, ending a run of title successes for Suzuki. With increasingly serious entries from Kawasaki, Honda and the Italian manufacturers MV Agusta, Ducati and Aprilia, the 2005 championship is set to bring us close racing for the whole season.

Suzuki are determined to win back their crown, with a new GSX-R1000 and top Japanese rider Keiichi Kitagawa recruited to ride alongside French ace Vincent Philippe. German teams Bridgestone Bikers and Innodrom, along with and Italian squad No Limits, will also campaign Suzukis but the strongest competition will come from two Yamaha teams.

Phase One Endurance are already triple World Endurance Champions, and with popular Aussie Warwick Nowland (himself a double world champion) back on their YZF-R1, confidence levels in the British team are high. Yamaha Austria have also strengthened their rider line-up, with fast Frenchman Gwen Giabbani joining Slovenian Igor Jerman.

The depth of talent continues throughout the rest of the field, with French team Powerbike joining the World Endurance Championship for the first time and Italian squad X-One switching from Benelli to Yamaha.

The three Italian factories represented in the championship will be going head to head for national honour at every round. MV Agusta start their second year in the series with backing from Burger King and the German MV importers, Ducati Spring Team are a stronger outfit this year, but perhaps the most interesting entry is the Motociclismo magazine backed Aprilia squad, with riders Fabrizio Pellizzon and double motocross world champion Frederic Bolley.

The sole Honda entry comes from the German Projecteam Honda Endurance, while Kawasaki are represented by Swiss team Bolliger, their British partners Diablo, and the German RMT21 squad. The experience and consistency of Bolliger in particular leads many to expect podium results and race wins for Kawasaki in 2005.

The championship begins with the now traditional Easter Monday date for the Assen 500km race, before moving on to the Albacete 8 Hour, Suzuka 8 Hour, Oschersleben 24 Hour and the season finale 200 Miglia di Vallelunga.

8th March 2005

Full entry list here...