Dutch rider Glenn van Straalen and the D34G WorldSSP Racing Team have announced their split by mutual termination ahead of the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round in a couple of weeks. The Dutchman joined the team for this season on their Panigale V2, but his season unravelled at Phillip Island before it really got started. A crash in testing left the #28 diagnosed with a concussion and he was ruled out of action, returning at Portimao more than a month later after he was declared fit.

However, progress for both team and rider has not been how they envisaged and they have announced their split. A statement from the team said: “Team D34G Racing and Glenn van Straalen have jointly decided to terminate their agreement for the 2025 edition of the WorldSSP Championship. After a promising start to the offseason, with great feeling aboard the team’s Panigale V2 955 machine, in the opening session of the Phillip Island official test, the 24-year-old from Hoogkarspel, the Netherlands, lost control of his Ducati machine due to no fault of his own, after running on oil left on track by an opponent bike ahead of him – along with other competitors. After extensive medical checks, he was diagnosed with a concussion. Despite returning to action at Portimão in late March – after being declared fit to ride by the medical staff - van Straalen has struggled to regain the ideal condition to perform at the level shown in previous years (multiple podiums and last year a race win in the series). With some more time needed to make a full recovery, van Straalen and the team have agreed on terminating the contract in order for the rider to focus on his health.”

Discussing the situation, van Straalen said: “It is regrettable to end the relationship with Davide and the team but, at the moment, it is for the best. After the concussion in Australia, we took time to come back ‘fit to ride’ but since then, the progress has stayed behind expectations. I want to express my gratitude to the team, they have been very supportive and made a lot of effort to give me a good feeling with the bike, but we have had to acknowledge that I am not fully recovered after the crash at the Phillip Island test. Davide is a former professional rider and knows what I am going through; he has been very considerate; the team has always been patient and given me time to recover. We have decided together that this is not possible with a full racing and testing program. I am now taking the time to fully recover and to come back fully fit and strong. I wish the team all the best.”

Team Manager Davide Giugliano added: “I’m obviously very saddened to be sharing this announcement. First of all, I’d like to thank Glenn for his professionalism. He’s really a good guy, a great professional and I fully believe in his abilities as a rider. We started preparations to the season well, with Glenn off to a good start and very competitive during winter testing as he showed he could compete at the highest of his possibilities. Then we went to Australia and, through no fault of his own, he suffered a significant crash. The tumble was a big one and happened in one of the fastest sections of the track, and the big impact came also with a notable concussion. As a team, we gave him all the time to recover; we managed to have him back in Portimao, a round in which he showed the excellent approach that characterises him. After that, we started to experience a more challenging time: instead of improving, our performance stagnated. We came to the mutual conclusion – as agreed between team, rider, and management – that Glenn needs further time and tranquillity in order to return to the level that has distinguished him – meaning to fight for top positions. Therefore, we mutually agreed, for the good of both rider and team, to take the difficult decision of terminating the current agreement. I wish Glenn all the best, a bit of rest and I hope to see him back on track soon in order to fight for the positions he belongs to. Regarding the team, we’ll continue our work, and we’ll share what’s next as soon as possible.”

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