Petronas Yamaha MotoGP
According to many sources well connected with the MotoGP paddock, in the next few hours there’s going to be an official announcement regarding the deal that will create a new satellite Yamaha team in MotoGP for next season.
As many expected, Yamaha and Petronas have already reached an agreement, and the deal will include two riders: Dani Pedrosa and Franco Morbidelli.
Yamaha was negotiating with Marc VDS before the Belgium team went into a downhill spiral after accusations of financial misconduct by team manager Michael Bartholemy, accusations made by team owner Marc van der Straten. The deal didn’t went through, and Yamaha was left without a satellite team… until now!
After many weeks talking with potential partners, Yamaha Racing has finally reached an agreement, and found a sponsor in Malaysia, with Petronas accepting to back the new team. Having found a sponsor, Yamaha then decided to mix experience with a newcomer to ride the satellite Yamaha M1’s.
Dani Pedrosa was almost certain to hang his leathers at the end of the year, but the Spanish rider seems to still have something to prove and will ride for at least another season. Alongside him will be Franco Morbidelli, who, after the Marc VDS problems, was immediately recruited by Yamaha.
As for the structure who will support Yamaha, rumours pointed to Aspar Team, but at the moment there’s no more news about this.
At the Dutch GP, this weekend, there should be an official announcement and all the details will be known.