Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo will lead the factory Yamaha MotoGP team in a season that represents fresh start for them after departure of MotoGP legend and their star rider Valentino Rossi to Yamaha satelite team Petronas SRT.
2020 was a rather strange season for Yamaha in terms of competitiveness. After a strong start for Quartararo riding the Petronas SRT Yamaha, he endured inconsistent rest of the season, with his team mate Franco Morbidelli proving his talent and worth by being best Yamaha rider during the 2020 with 2019 M1.
Overall both factory and satelite team achieved seven wins which was the best of any other bike, but still the feeling with Yamaha was that they slip down the order during the development race of their 2020 M1.
For this new chapter they will also start with new test rider in the name of former MotoGP winner Cal Crutchlow, replacing their last MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo.
During the presentation of the official Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, team principal Lin Jarvis have confirmed the news that they have signed a contract with commercial rights holder and series promoter Dorna Sports S.L. to continue their participation in the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship for a further five years, from 2022 to 2026.
Toyoshi Nishida, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.’s Executive Officer: “First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Carmelo Ezpeleta and Dorna, as well as all of the Yamaha personnel who made our successful run at the highest level of motorcycle racing possible.
“At Yamaha we take great pride in taking part in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. We are all very pleased that we can confirm the contract renewal for a further five years at the start of an important season for our company.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “First of all, I would like to thank Nishida-san and all the members of Yamaha for the long-term collaboration during all these years. At Dorna we are pleased to be a part of the culmination of this partnership by extending our agreement with Yamaha. We are eager to witness this new chapter of the iconic Japanese manufacturer celebrating its 60th anniversary in the racing scene, a factory that has always shown a great commitment with the MotoGP World Championship and whose future will see many other exciting challenges to be enjoyed together in these upcoming years.”
