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Loris Baz, currently 4th in the World Superbike Championship, will join the Forward Yamaha team in MotoGP for the 2015 season.

Since the departure of Randy De Puniet at the end of the 2013 season, MotoGP’s premier class has been without a French rider.

The main issue for Baz’ bid to join MotoGP appeared to be concerns about his physical size and whether he would be able to manage on a MotoGP bike. At over 6 feet tall (1.92 meters appears to be the best guess), Baz’ height caused several difficulties along the way to his Forward contract. As ever, the best explanation of a MotoGP-related story is over at MotoMatters.

Forward Yamaha has a fair bit of momentum these days. With current rider Aleix Espargaro regularly grabbing best Open team results, and with German Stefan Bradl signed for next year, Forward now adds a fast young (Baz is 21) Frenchman to the team. This may open up new sponsorship opportunities, never a bad thing.

As for the photo, this is Baz in the pit lane at Laguna Seca back in July. Was the height issue on his mind? Was he working on a compact posture under an imaginary MotoGP bike? Who knows? But if you’re over 6 feet tall and you want to race motorbikes, it’s always good to practice getting small.

Photograph: ©2014 by Scott Jones / PHOTO.GP – All Rights Reserved

Camera Info: Nikon D4 with Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8