Petronas SRT has showcased its 2020 MotoGP livery on the Yamaha YZR-M1 in one more launch at Sepang International Circuit.
After Suzuki and Yamaha, Petronas SRT becomes the third team to unveil its 2020 MotoGP bike and livery at Sepang circuit in a space of few hours, with Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli in attendance along with Razlan Razali, Johan Stigefelt and Wilco Zeelenberg.
The Yamaha satellite outfit became the sixth MotoGP team to showcase its livery, which sees slight change from 2019 in terms of positioning, with the colours remaining the same as black and florescent green – the colours of title sponsor Petronas.
The team clarified that Quartararo will have the factory spec – same as Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales – in 2020 as he is to make a switch to Yamaha in 2021. Morbidelli, meanwhile, will have the new spec as well but it will be the ‘A-spec’.
“Obviously, it’s been a positive off-season for me being able to get my future determined and this means I can focus completely on the twenty races ahead which is very beneficial,” said Quartararo. “The support from PETRONAS and Yamaha is great and I’m looking forward to riding the Factory bike over the races ahead.
After finishing 2019 with podiums and taking great results, I hope to be fighting in the top five again, targeting podiums and looking for wins. I don’t have any goals for the championship, my approach is race-by-race, trying to finish on the podium.
The next step is to see the potential of the bike here at Sepang and this will give us a clear idea about what we can expect from the season ahead.” At the same time, Morbidelli, stated: “My target is to improve last year’s results and improve myself in every way possible. I’ve been concentrating on general conditioning and improving my fitness so that I can do everything at my best to face this season well-prepared.
“It’s been a good off-season and I’m rested and refreshed as well as being very eager to get back on the bike. In particular, looking at the races ahead, I want to improve my race pace. Last year I was fast in practice and close to the top riders on Friday and Saturday, but on race day it was different.
“I wasn’t able to match the top guys in the races. In 2020 I want to make this step up. The start of this is testing over the next three days so I can’t wait to get started.” And finally, Razali added: “We are proud to represent Malaysia and PETRONAS on the world stage for a second season as PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team. We are looking forward to the season ahead, eager to give Franco and Fabio the best opportunity to build on their 2019 performance.
“We are fortunate to enjoy strong support from PETRONAS and Yamaha, who share our philosophy and are invaluable to our aspirations. In MotoGP we set the bar high in 2019, so there is a lot of external pressure and motivation to repeat or improve this level of performance.
“We have targeted improvement in every area of the team but we are mindful that the element we don’t have control over is our rivals and how much progress they have made over the off-season. We’re eager to see everyone out on track over the forthcoming days at Sepang and we’re pushing hard to prepare ourselves in the best way possible for the season ahead.”
The team which made it into premier class in 2020, surprised everyone with their results, which seemed better than factory Yamaha outfit. Quartararo, in particular, outshone teammate Morbidelli and deservedly got the new deal from 2021 onward.
Click here to see full gallery from Petronas SRT launch
The 2020 MotoGP unveils:
Aprilia – in test livery
