2008 FIM MX1 World Champion David Philippaerts will enter the 2014 MXGP season under the awning of his own newly formed team, DP Racing, after the Italian reached a support agreement with Yamaha Motor Europe and his former squad headed by Michele Rinaldi.

For several months the soon-to-be 30 year old has been trying to secure a paid Grand Prix ride after coming back from wrist injuries in 2011 and 2012 with 11th position in 2013 where he re-established his presence in the top ten of the premier class. With doors to the factory teams either already closed or well-supported saddles few and far between, the veteran has taken matters into his own hands and will ride the new 2014 YZ450F in a return to the brand he represented from 2008 to 2012 and delivered their last world title.

“I’m really happy because this is a new challenge for me. I won a world championship and now having my own team is the next step and the future for me in motocross,” he said exclusively to us this morning. “Now I am very busy; sending emails and making calls. It is a part of the job I didn’t have to worry too much about in the past but now it is just part of this exciting project.”

“I had some offers from teams for 2014 but they either involved very little money or me having to bring finance to the team,” Philippaerts explains. “This is not really the direction I wanted to take. I had conversations in the paddock and also spoke with Giuseppe Luongo [Youthstream President] at Teutschenthal for the Motocross of Nations and he has been very supportive. He also wants new teams in the championship and believes I still have something to offer MXGP.”

DP Racing is searching for a title sponsor and Philippaerts is in the process of securing technical partners. He already has a mechanic, and a small race truck as well as race support will come from the Rinaldi camp. “I reached a great agreement with Yamaha for 2014 that will allow me to use a bike and technical support from Michele Rinaldi. The deal also involves a bonus structure, which is quite important as I start this thing up. I rode the 2014 YZ450F last week and I was very impressed and I thought it was already a better bike than the one I rode in 2012. I was happy and I know we can get this machine to a very good level at GP.”

Philippaerts admits that DP Racing was born as a platform for the Grand Prix winner to continue his FIM World Championship career but could welcome other riders into the framework in the future. He could even field a rider of the 125 or 250 European series as early as 2014. “I would like to have a young rider as part of the team and I have been speaking with an Italian and also a French racer who might be interested just for the European Championship,” he said. “At the moment nothing is confirmed because I need to complete the structure to be able to offer a good set-up to another rider. I don’t want to just provide an awning for them, I want to be able to train with them and take a good interest.”

The biggest challenge for Italy’s first ever MX1 world champion is to find the budget that will allow him to make it through an eighteen round Grand Prix term with at least five flyaway events: “It is not easy of course and we have to prepare for eighteen rounds. I am lucky in that I have the support of a mechanic who is ready to work hard and is a good person. I know I can pick and choose the right people to work with now and this is an advantage of having your own team. The other side of the job means that I have to spend time confirming all the technical partners for the bike components and we already have some reliable people onboard and I am pushing for more in these coming weeks. I have made calls to friends who have lent some backing and we have enough to start this team but the search for a sponsor is the main job. It might happen in one month or one year, and will involve someone who wants to be a part of the team and likes what we are doing. At the moment I am racing, and I am doing it on my terms, so I am happy and there is much more work to do.”