Alex Lowes has signed a deal with the all-new factory Pata Yamaha team and will run works R1s for the 2016 and 2017 World Superbike seasons alongside team-mate and former world champion Sylvain Guintoli.

After two tough years on the ageing GSX-R1000, Lowes is now a full factory employee with the weight of Yamaha behind him and with title sponsor Pata crisps, who have switched allegiance from the Ten Kate-run Honda team.

The squad is being run by Lowes’ current Crescent Racing outfit but with factory backing from Yamaha Europe using all the data collected by Josh Brookes and the Milwaukee Yamaha team in British Superbikes. Muir’s Milwaukee operation were in the frame for the WSBK contract but lost out to Paul Denning.

“This is a very exciting moment for us as we eagerly wait to return to the top level of Superbike competition next year after an absence of four years,” said Yamaha Motor Europe boss Eric De Seynes.

“Having re-written the Supersport rule book and changed the game with the new YZF-R1, directly developed from Yamaha MotoGP technology, it was clear we would need to return to the World Superbike Championship to show the full potential of our new bike.

“We took one year to grow experience with the new R1 in many other championships where the bike has shown its potential already, with the amazing Suzuka Eight-Hours victory and the very positive results that our official teams are gathering all around Europe. Now we are ready to be back on the world stage and I am happy we have found in Crescent the same values of professionalism, engineering detail and passion for victory we share.”

Crescent will partner Yamaha as their fully-supported Official WSBK Team from 2016. Crescent is the World Superbike Championship’s only UK-based team and has a 20-year racing history at both national and global level that features victories in the British Superbike Championship, World Superbike and MotoGP.

Yamaha Motor Europe will retain responsibility over racing strategy and technical development, as well as the rider agreements with Crescent’s hugely experienced, dedicated, technical and engineering racing personnel running the team’s operation at each of the Championship rounds.

For contractual reasons, Lowes, Guintoli and Denning are unable to talk about the deal until the season finishes.