The team was founded in 1990 by ex-racer Hervé Poncharal, engineer Guy Coulon and, Bernard Martignac and began racing in the 250 cc class using Honda and Suzuki motorcycles. In 1999, the team partnered with Yamaha for the factory team and in 2000 their riders, Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano, placed first and second in the 250 world championship. In 2001 the team moved the whole operation to the premier class, again with Yamaha, Jacque and Nakano on the YZR500, though their status changed to that of satellite team through to the present. Towards the end of the 2002 season, the team was given use of the YZR-M1. In 2006 and 2007 the team used Dunlop tyres, but returned to Michelin in 2008. In the 2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, the two-time and reigning Superbike World ChampionJames Toseland partnered with the two-time Superbike World ChampionColin Edwards. For 2010, Ben Spies replaced Toseland. Spies finished the season in sixth place while Edwards finished in eleventh place. In the new Moto2 category, Tech3 rider Yuki Takahashi finished the season in twelfth place while Raffaele De Rosa finished 27th, aboard Honda-powered bikes using a Tech3 chassis. For 2011, Spies moved to the factory Yamaha team, and was being replaced by Cal Crutchlow; the team again retained Colin Edwards for a fourth season. For 2012, Crutchlow moved into the second year of his two-year deal, while Edwards announced that he was leaving for the Forward Racing team with Andrea Dovizioso having been confirmed as his replacement. Bradley Smith signed a deal to ride for the team in MotoGP in 2013 and 2014. In early 2018, after twenty years' association with Yamaha, the team announced an intended move to KTM beginning in the 2019 season, becoming a satellite team to the Austrian firm's MotoGP presence. In mid-2018, Tech3 also confirmed they would be entering the inaugural season of the MotoE World Cup in 2019. After the 2019 season in Moto2, with KTM withdrawing from the series, for 2020 Tech3 will field a two-rider team in the Moto3 class for the first time, also using KTM machinery.
