MotoGP Assen J3: The Petronas Yamaha team challenges the Iwata factory team

The Petronas Yamaha team was born eight months ago practically from a misunderstanding. He had to first welcome Jorge Lorenzo then he was promised to Dani Pedrosa. But none of his tenors concluded while the Malaysian Razlan Razali continued his approach by integrating Franco Morbidelli and betting on Fabio Quartararo. Good luck to him. Because now his troops are carving croupiers from the factory structure more often than not…

Latest example, the meeting at Assen : At the end of the Dutch Grand Prix, the Yamahas in the colors of Petronas had scored 27 points against 25 for the M1 alone bearing the Monster M. In the general ranking of championnat, fabio quartararo now finds himself between Valentino Rossi et Maverick Vinales, a trio united in five points.

Furthermore, the emergence of the Malaysian team corresponds with the explosion of talent in fabio quartararo who has three pole positions and two podiums. Finally, in the Netherlands, the Petronas' group shot was clear: A third place for the Frenchman and a fifth for Franco Morbidelli.

« What a fantastic Grand Prix » exulted Razlan Razali. " It's amazing that this team only has eight races. Fabio did a good job all weekend and the whole team did a great job. Franco also had a good race and a good fifth place rewarded his efforts ».

The Petronas team is new, yes, but its staff is not made up of beginners. The team principal is former Grand Prix driver, Johan Stigefelt, and the team leader, Wilco Zeelenberg, led the Yamaha factory structure for many years. “ Assen produced our best team result so far " highlighted Zeelenberg. " Our drivers finished in third and fifth place, which is unexpected. If you tell me that these results will continue until the end of the year, I will sign immediately! ».

With better results, self-confidence increases. At the Sachsenring, the next highlight should follow. “ We come out of this race with a lot more energy and we are looking forward to the next round » underlined the Dutchman, aged 52. “ For the Sachsenring, we need to make sure that Fabio can start the weekend in the best possible conditions. And we hope that Franco can take another step forward, although we are more than satisfied with the results of our pilots ».

We will remember that the Yamahas can take advantage of the Sachsenring track. In 2017, Jonas Folger had stood up to the master of the place Marc Márquez on the Yamaha Tech3 until the finish…

MotoGP Assen J3: classification