PETRONAS Yamaha SRT | Photo credits: Yamaha Racing
The season finale is slowly approaching and PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team is all set for the Gran Premio de Europa to start the first of the highly-anticipated “triple-header” at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Both riders Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli are ready to contend for the riders’ title with 75 points up for grabs across the two Valencia rounds and Portimão season-ender.
This weekend will be the first chance to decide the Best Independent Team for PETRONAS Yamaha SRT and the Constructor Title for Yamaha. The Gran Premio de Europa will begin for the MotoGP pair at 10.55 am local time (5.55 pm MYT) on Friday with Free Practice 1. Sunday’s 27-lap race will get underway at 2 pm local time (9 pm MYT).
Although we had two difficult races last time out in Aragón, I want to take advantage of the good feeling I have always had on a MotoGP bike at Valencia in these two races coming up. It’s a small track but is one that I like. I had a great feeling there last year, when I took a podium and the pole position, and also in the post-season test. Of course, I hope to be able to repeat that this weekend. There are three races left this year and a 14-point gap with the leader. We know how fast we can be, so I think we have some good opportunities coming into these final events in Valencia and Portimão, and I’m looking forward to the first of them this weekend.
It feels good going into the final three races of the year after the second win of the season at Aragón. Valencia can be a tricky circuit when riding a MotoGP bike. It’s narrow and the MotoGP bikes have so much power on a track that’s quite small, compared to other categories. But it is a place that I love because it’s where I made my first step into big-wheeled motorsport, in a Spanish championship. I’m feeling great on the bike. We will work to keep the same feeling at this circuit and be fighting again for the top places. We go there just 25 points from being at the top of the championship standings. So I want to be aggressive in these final races at Valencia and Portimão to see what we can achieve.