Former Ski-Doo pilot Steve Taylor has inked a deal with Yamaha and will race entirely under Yamaha’s management. In other words, no Boss-style team-in-a-team deal like Malinoski brought with him (and took to Ski-Doo).
Yamaha will have full control of what goes on in its race trailer and Taylor, who has shown promise in WPSA Pro Sno-X racing, will answer directly to Yamaha Race Manager, Greg Marier.
Along with Taylor comes the 2007 WPSA National Semi-Pro Open Champ Cory Davis. Davis will be defending his Semi-Pro title this season using a Nytro based Open Mod. Both riders claim to have logged significant hours on the racing Nytro this spring and are enthusiastic about their chances in WPSA competition.
Here’s our take on the aforementioned team shuffling. Yamaha did what nobody thought possible. It successfully executed a credible assault on the toughest snowmobile racing discipline – WPSA Sno-X.
Naturally, Malinoski was integral to Yamaha’s success; obviously the Nytro-Mod couldn’t win a National with a dud on its back. However, the Yamaha effort last season was entirely credible and Malinoski’s migration should not be seen as less than competitive.
Will Yamaha have as much success with Taylor on the Nytro in 2008? We think Yamaha’s continued success in Sno-X will be rooted in the talent of its drivers and not with the sophistication of the sled. More wins are inevitable.
