Following its acquisition of Norton Motorcycles from bankruptcy in April 2020 , Indian conglomerate TVS has finalised senior management appointments for " the next phase of its transformation of the historic British company " following completion of its move to a new 8,000 unit annual capacity facility at Birmingham , England , earlier this year . Sudarshan Venu , Joint Managing Director of TVS Motor Company ( TVS ), announced that Norton Motorcycles will be led by Robert Hentschel as Chief Executive Officer and Vittorio Urciuoli in the newly created Chief Technology Officer position . One of the top five two-wheeler manufacturers in the world , TVS says Norton is " undergoing a comprehensive transformation " and is " being positioned for future growth ". " The new leadership team brings exceptional global automotive leadership and engineering experience , including senior roles at Ricardo , Ferrari and Lotus ." After playing a key role in stabilising the company , ex- Harley Europe Managing Director John Russell will end his tenure as Interim CEO at Norton . Hentschel joins Norton from Valmet Automotive Holding GmbH & Co KG , where he has served as Managing Director
Chief Executive Officer Robert Hentschel
since 2017 . Before that , he headed Ricardo Deutschland and Hentschel System and was also Director of Lotus Engineering . Vittorio Urciuoli ' s former key roles within the global automotive industry include Director of URVI Ltd , Head of Powertrain at Lotus Cars and Project Leader at Ferrari and Aprilia Racing . Sudarshan Venu stated : " TVS has created a plan for Norton to transform into the future . The brand will retain its core values which will be interpreted in a modern way for the customers of today and tomorrow . Both Hentschel and Urciuoli are experienced engineers with pedigree on the world stage . Over the last 12 months , we
have ensured that our clear strategy for the transformation of Norton has been delivered with significant improvements to the product and the creation of a world class manufacturing facility in record time ." Norton was originally founded in Birmingham , England , in 1898 , by James Lansdowne Norton as a manufacturer of " fittings and parts for the twowheel trade ". A Norton won the Twin Cylinder class at the first ever Isle of Man TT in 1907 , and there followed nearly 50 years of growth and track success . The 1960s and since have not been as kind to the Norton brand , but long-suffering customers and fans of the brand have high hopes for stability , a return to growth and some exciting new models under TVS ' ownership .
Chief Technology Officer Vittorio Urciuoli
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Yamaha and Dorna Sports have signed a new agreement that will see the Japanese company continue as the official scooter supplier to the FIM MotoGP World Championship . Yamaha first became the exclusive scooter supplier for MotoGP in 2005 . This new agreement supplies Dorna with a fleet of 25 NMAX 125 scooters .
Suzuki Motor has signed with Dorna Sports to extend its involvement in the FIM MotoGP World Championship from the 2022 season to 2026 - continuing to race as Team Suzuki Ecstar . Suzuki ' s racing story began in 1960 with the Isle of Man TT . Last year it celebrated its 100th anniversary and 60 years in racing by winning the riders ' World Championship with Joan Mir .
Dell ' Orto remains the Official Data Acquisition partner of the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup . A one-year contract extension sees the Italian company remain on board with MotoE until at least 2022 . Energica provides the ' spec ' bikes for the series and Dell ' Orto supplies a stateof-the-art system including data logger , inertial measurement unit , tyre monitoring system and suspension and brake sensors .
Acerbis is to continue as a WorldSBK official sponsor for four more years . Acerbis has been an official sponsor of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship since 2013 .
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