Odendaal and Evan Bros. Yamaha split for 2022 WorldSSP season

Despite a career year with the Evan Bros. Yamaha team in WorldSSP, Steven Odendaal will not be continuing with the team after announcing the split on social media.

Odendaal’s departure comes just days after Randy Krummenacher did the same from CM Racing, however, this is a much bigger surprise given the success Odendaal and Evan Bros enjoyed together in 2021. 

The South African rider won three of the opening four races which then became four out of the first ten as he battled for the title with eventual series winner Dominique Aegerter. 

Odendaal’s championship challenge slowly faded during the second half of 2021, but still, it was an impressive second season in the intermediate class. The former Moto2 rider would go on to take one more win which came in race one at Portimao.

Odendaal announced his decision to split from the team on Instagram by saying: "Thank you to the Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team for a year that I will never forget. In 2022 we will go our separate ways and I would like to wish them all the best."

The reason for his departure from Evan Bros is due to the team wanting Odendaal to bring funds to the table, which surprised the 28 year-old given his P2 finish.

Odendaal, who has been approached by various WorldSSP teams for 2022, while also having a ‘very interesting’ offer to join the World Endurance Championship on the table, said this when speaking to the official World Superbike website: "Having finished 2nd in the overall standings this year, I’ve been approached by almost every team for 2022. 

"However, as the current vice world champion, it came as a big surprise that I would be expected to bring capital to the team. 

"On the other hand, I have received a very interesting offer from EWC which would be difficult to turn down."