Yamaha satellite team performs with Dovizioso and rookie Binder

January 24, 2022

With an hour behind schedule due to technical problems, the new WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team , the team refounded by Razlan Razali after the dissolution of the previous Petronas SRT, was presented this Monday afternoon from the Italian town of Verona , headquarters of the team’s sponsoring company.

The veteran rider Andrea Dovizioso , who returns to the World Championship full-time after leaving Ducati in 2020, and the young South African rookie Darryn Binder , who makes the jump directly from Moto3 to the premier class, will be the line-up for the Malaysian team, who will also of the Razali management will have the leadership of Wilco Zeelemberg as the highest sports manager, after the defenestration of Johan Stigefelt after irreconcilable disagreements with the owner of the team.

In the presentation, held from the Teatro Filarmonico de Verona, it was possible to see for the first time the decoration that the Yamaha #04 by Dovizioso and #40 by Binder will wear, which have lost the characteristic turquoise green used until now to give way to the color black. corporate of the title sponsor WithU, in addition to the blue Yamaha, supplier of the machinery.

Dovizioso, who has signed an agreement with Yamaha , will have a 2022 M1 prototype after having contested the last five races of last season on the bike left behind by Franco Morbidelli after his injury and jumped to the official team, a 2020 prototype. The Italian, three times runner-up in the world and winner of 15 races in the highest category, will have the experienced Ramón Forcada as his technical chief.

The rookie Binder, for his part, will have to settle for a 2021 version motorcycle, the same one with which Fabio Quartararo won the MotoGP crown last season with the official team.

After losing the sponsorship of Petronas and the support of the Sepang Circuit (SIC), Razali has managed to associate with the Italian telecommunications company WithU, which will contribute around three million euros to the team’s budget, which will have to find another ten million to be able to complete the season, a part of them, apparently, direct contribution of sponsors of Binder.

Petronas SRT made its debut in the MotoGP World Championship in 2019 with the couple made up of Fabio Quartararo and Franco Mobidelli , managing to become the sensation of that course and endorsing its performance in 2020 with six victories, three for the Frenchman and as many for the Italian. who finished as runner-up in the world.

Fabio’s departure to the official team and Franco’s injury compromised the team’s performance in 2021, losing the support of Petronas and SIC to end up dissolving as a team. Razali, endorsed by Dorna, with whom he has a contract until 2026, claimed the places as his own, refounding the team and closing an agreement with Yamaha to supply the motorcycles for only one season, which is about to start.

Andrea Dovizioso, Darryn Binder, RNF Racing