Petronas Yamaha SRT begin their premier class voyage this season and on Monday 28th January in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the team unveiled their spectacular looking 2019 colours.
For their maiden MotoGP™ campaign, Petronas Yamaha SRT have an exciting lineup in 2018 Rookie of the Year Franco Morbidelli and 2019 rookie Fabio Quartararo – both of whom shared a few words about this new project before the covers came off their new machines:
Dream. Vision. Reality#PETRONASSRT #PETRONASmotorsports #SICRacingTeam #MotoGP pic.twitter.com/TfxnIPpuNJ
— PETRONAS SRT (@sicracingteam) January 28, 2019
“I feel we are taking part in a great thing,” began Morbidelli. “Petronas and SIC are doing a great thing too, so I’m very pleased. I hope we can get good results and make Petronas people happy.
“For sure I will try,” continued the Italian, when asked if he can continue his impressive start to life as a Yamaha rider in preseason testing. “We started well, and we have been working well from the beginning. This is a good start, but I don’t know. I will try to be the best rider I can, and I will see. I can say that I have to thank everybody from Petronas for giving me this opportunity. I feel, again, that we're doing a great thing. We’ll do the maximum to make you proud.”
Quartararo then shared his thoughts, as he makes the step up from Moto2™ as the youngest rider in the premier class for 2019: “For sure the first day in Valencia was incredible – the power of bike and brakes, the electronics, it’s a big change from Moto2. We know we have a lot to learn from this test to be ready for the season.
“I feel good. For sure I’m the youngest but I don’t need to think about age. We need to think about the results of the bike and make good results. Honestly, I’ve not seen the bike. I’ve seen pictures. it looks incredible. I can’t wait to see the bike unveiled.”
Joining the two MotoGP™ stars on stage to unveil their 2019 liveries were the Moto2™ and Moto3™ Petronas Sprinta Racing riders: Khariul Idham Pawi, Ayumu Sasaki and John McPhee – with all three relishing the challenge ahead for this season.
Next on the agenda for Morbidelli and Quartararo is the Sepang Test, with the duo aiming to continue their positive 2019 preseason testing on the 6th, 7th and 8th February.