The mystery surrounding Bastien Mackels has been solved. It had been quiet for a long time around the 35-year-old Belgian. Now, the Dutch team SWPN has announced the 2018 runner-up as its new IDM Superbike 1000 rider for the 2021 season.
A lot has happened over the past winter, especially on the business front. Yamaha Motor Europe has changed course. Its branch in the Netherlands has been expanded to cover the Benelux region. This means that SWPN, as a racing team, has been able to broaden its horizons to include Belgium and Luxembourg as well. That’s how the signing of Bastien Mackels came about.
With the experienced Belgian, SWPN has a top rider on its roster. Mackels won the IDM Superstock 1000 class in 2013 and finished as runner-up in the premier Superbike class in 2018. SWPN hopes to achieve top finishes once again with Mackels. The team’s race bike is the Yamaha R1M. This week, the team is testing in Spain to prepare for the IDM season. This includes Melvin van der Voort, who has long been a confirmed rider from the IDM Supersport 600 class.
“I’ve talked about the races with the guys from SWPN in the paddock many times. We share the same vision of racing and know what it takes to achieve our goal,” says Mackels about his signing. “I met the team over the winter and immediately had a good feeling. It was also an easy decision to commit to SWPN for 2021. It’s also important to me to ride the Yamaha R1M for the second year in a row. I’m proud to be a Belgian rider for a Dutch team with the support of Yamaha Benelux. Given the team’s performance so far and our shared motivation, I believe podium finishes should be our goal and that I could be a title contender.”