Changes made but spirit strong for EWC team Motobox Kremer Racing

February 10th, 2023

Motobox Kremer Racing might have a new-look rider line-up plus a new tyre supplier for the 2023 FIM Endurance World Championship, but the German squad’s strong spirit remains unchanged.

A leading independent team in the EWC for more than 20 years and still in the mix for Formula EWC success, Motobox Kremer Racing has recruited Christian Napoli (Italy) and Daniel Rubin (Germany) to partner up with established team rider Geoffroy Dehaye from France.

German Stefan Ströhlein and Austrian Lukas Walchhütter, who rode for Motobox Kremer Racing in the 2022 EWC, have been thanked for their service. Meanwhile, the team’s Yamaha YZF-R1 will be equipped with Pirelli tyres.

“It’s a new year in the Motobox family with new challenges and two new team-mates, Christian Napoli, whom I know well and have really appreciated for a number of years, and Daniel Rubin, who has arrived in the EWC and will be racing his first 24-hour race,” said Dehaye, who turns 35 today (10 February). “We will give him all our advice to complete this challenge as best as possible. We are returning to Pirelli and aiming for the top 10. We will do our best to get there.”

Napoli, 35, who steps up from the EWC’s Superstock division by joining Motobox Kremer Racing, said: “I am very happy to be part of this team, a traditional endurance team but, above all, made up of passionate people. We promised each other that we would race together sooner or later when we met a few years ago. I’m really looking forward to starting in the EWC class and competing against the big names. I’ve never liked simple things. I’m preparing for the season as best I can with hard training. We’re a good team with strong team-mates and I’m confident that we’ll be competitive in all races. I’ve never been to Suzuka, it will be my first time and I’m really looking forward to it. But I will need the advice of the team: they have the experience because they have competed there several times.”

Rubin, 24, added, “I’m really looking forward to the new challenge. I got a taste of the team in 2017 as a rider for the 8 hours at the Slovakia Ring. But then I first concentrated on the IDM [in Germany], because things went very well for us in the 600 class and I also fought for the championship title in 2018. In 2020 I made the step into the Superbike IDM. It started well right away, then Corona came and races were cancelled and I was more busy with my parents’ business again. The contact with the Motobox Kremer team was there again from 2022 and this gave me the opportunity to start for them in the EWC in the 2023 season. Thanks to the team for this opportunity, I will do my best.”