Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team has revealed its 2020 bike with not much change in livery in another launch event held at Sepang International Circuit.
Like Suzuki, even Yamaha had their 2020 MotoGP launch held at Sepang circuit, in the presence of riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales, along with their chiefs Lin Jarvis, Hiroshi Itou, Takahiro Sumi and Massimo Meregalli.
They also had Jorge Lorenzo as they unveiled the 2020 YZR-M1 which keeps the same colour scheme as the 2019 MotoGP bike – that’s the mix of black and dark blue with the inscription of title sponsor Monster Energy.
“At the end of last season we were in decent shape, so I’m really excited to start working again on our goal to get the title and as many wins as possible,” said Vinales. “For sure, I’m looking forward to riding my M1 again.
“The last time I rode it here in Malaysia was during the 2019 season and we won. It’s a really positive memory and it also means we have a good starting point here in terms of set-up, so we should be able to get straight to work tomorrow on Day 1 of the Sepang Test.
“I’ve used the winter months really well. I’ve done a lot of physical training and riding to make sure my body and mind are in top shape. We need to work hard and be focused on our goal right from the start, so that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
At the same time, Rossi, stated: “For some reason the winter months always seem a lot longer than the summer months during the MotoGP season – those seem to just fly by! Anyway, I’m happy to be on track and to start riding again.
“I’ve been able to relax during the stop and also do some fun riding events, but now it’s time to get serious about 2020. I’m very curious to see what steps we can make during the Sepang Test.
“For sure, Yamaha have prepared some new things for us to try, and anyway the first laps of the year on a MotoGP bike after the winter break are always a unique sensation – it’s always something I really enjoy.
“For sure we have a lot of work ahead of us, but the team and I are ready for it.” Meanwhile, Jarvis added: “Today we officially ‘introduced’ the 2020 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team line-up. Monster Energy has been a team partner since 2013 and it was just 12 months ago in Jakarta when they stepped up to become the main sponsor of our Factory MotoGP Team.
“We have thoroughly enjoyed working closely together throughout the first year and we are now ready to further expand our collaboration and achieve greater sporting successes in this second season. The 2019 bike design and team ‘look’ was very well received by both Monster Energy and Yamaha fans around the world, so we decided to keep the strong image unchanged for 2020.
“However, that is the only thing that remains unchanged. If you scratch beneath the surface you will find many changes that Yamaha and the team have made to improve the bike, the performance of our riders and the total working efficiency of our team. We are excited to start this new season, and we believe we can achieve great things this year.”
Yamaha is looking to push on after a difficult 2019 MotoGP season where they looked a touch behind both Honda and Ducati, where even Suzuki looked slightly better than their Japanese counterpart. It will be a big year for them, which is possibly the last for Rossi.
They will have four YZR-M1 on the grid this season with satellite outfit Petronas SRT riders Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli also getting the same spec as the factory riders. The team looked in a slightly better shape in 2019 and so it will be interesting in 2020.
Here’s full gallery of photos.
The 2020 MotoGP unveils:
Aprilia – in test livery
