Yamaha has chosen Paolo Pavesio to replace Lin Jarvis as the head of its MotoGP programme in 2025, Autosport can reveal.
The Japanese manufacturer is expected to announce the appointment of Pavesio as the managing director of Yamaha Motor Racing at Misano next week.
Over the past 10 years, Pavesio has held various positions in different departments of Yamaha Europe in the Netherlands, the same office where Jarvis worked for six years before joining MotoGP in 1999.
The Italian, who currently occupies the post of Management Committee Member, has never played an active role in the MotoGP paddock, but does have racing experience through the brand’s teams in the World Superbike Championship.
It will be Pavesio who will manage the ongoing transition at Yamaha and its relationship with new satellite team Pramac, which will announce the signing of Miguel Oliveira and Jack Miller in the coming weeks.
Although grand prix winners Oliveira and Miller do not exactly fit the criterion of a ‘junior team’, Yamaha wants Pramac to initially serve as ‘team laboratory’ to speed up the development of the M1, thus justifying the choice of hiring experienced riders.
Yamaha is also working on strengthening its test team and intends to hire current Tech3 rider Augusto Fernandez for the role. The Spaniard will join Cal Crutchlow, who has been down with injury since the beginning of the year, in an expanded test team.
Finally, Yamaha is looking to finalise its Moto2 structure for 2025, with the aim of continuing a long-standing collaboration with VR46
Pavesio will have big shoes to fill, as Jarvis has been integral to Yamaha’s success in MotoGP in the last 25 years.
He first joined the squad in what was then the 500cc world championship in 1999, having previously worked in the marketing and communication department of Yamaha Europe for six years.
He announced his decision to retire from MotoGP at the end of the season in an interview with Autosport in April this year.
This year, Jarvis set out to complete several major tasks in order to put the Japanese marque on the right trajectory for the future.
After convincing Fabio Quartararo to sign a new contract, his priority was to get a satellite outfit that eventually came in the form of Pramac, which won the teams’ title last year with Ducati.
He has also hired a number of senior engineers and technicians, including from the marque's Italian rival, in order to bridge the gap to the front in the coming years.
With those tasks now complete, Jarvis can now retire as Yamaha’s top executive at the age of 66.
