The Dutch have a monarchy, and they’re also known for their famous cheese and beautiful tulips. But that’s not all. The Dutch also have the SWPN team, which will be competing with Yamaha in the IDM Superbike 1000, Supersport 600, and Supersport 300 classes in 2020. The riders: Ricardo Brink, Sander Kroeze, and Melvin van der Voort.
Ricardo Brink is by no means a newcomer. The 22-year-old is set to compete in his third season in the premier class. Brink has long since familiarized himself with this year’s competition. Even on paper, names like Jonas Folger, Florian Alt, Ilya Mikhalchik, and Julian Puffe make a strong impression. But that doesn’t intimidate Brink. His goal of improving on the updated Yamaha R1M remains. Last year, he finished seventh overall and secured two podium finishes. “We’ve made tremendous progress over the past two years,” says Brink, laughing, “and I’m convinced we can do even better.”
Sander Kroeze, a strong IDM Supersport 600 rider, has joined the team. He most recently rode for the German team MGM Racing Performance and won the very first race of the season at the Lausitzring. He was also among the winners at his home track in Assen. Kroeze is 18 years old. In 2020, he has the opportunity to compete in several Supersport World Championship races as a wildcard rider with SWPN.
IDM Supersport 300 Junior Melvin van der Voort is the youngest member of the already very young SWPN team. In 2019, he was the youngest rider in the junior class and made his debut at nearly every major racetrack. Throughout the season, van der Voort showed steady improvement on the R3. He delivered the highlight at the end of the season: fourth place at Hockenheim.
The plan for 2020 is set; the team will be testing in Spain in March. “We’re already at an advanced stage in terms of engine preparation,” says team manager Frank Brouwer.