The news of the withdrawal of the Petronas colors from the Grand Prix paddock at the end of this season was known, however, the official seal was still missing to definitively close the file. He arrived on Thursday which was the day before this British Grand Prix which marks the twelfth round of the championship this weekend. The message is quite poignant and above all it asks some questions. Like how can a private team which can be proud of a course which notably led it to place one of its riders second in the MotoGP championship suddenly find itself deprived and disappointed to this extent?
On the subject of the Grand Prix paddock ecosystem, two recent events deserve attention. In the sense of the warning. So we have a structure VR46 which was to show MotoGP with historically significant financial support in the industry and which gradually transforms as the days pass into the establishment of a private team where, like everywhere else, you will have to keep an eye on your budget. In the case of Petronas It's worse. Here is a Malaysian oil tanker who was refueling three stables spread across the three categories of promoter Dorna who is bowing out. And so turn off the tap.
Razlan Razali, who is at the forefront of this Malaysian ambition, is hard on himself by mentioning in his press release the failure of not having brought one of his compatriots to the top of the Grand Prix hierarchy. It is true that Petronas was intended to be a sector. However, without this sign, there would not have been Fabio Quartararo, and probably never for a long time to come a satellite team Yamaha would not have been so successful. In 2020, there were six in fourteen races and Morbidely, its driver, is the reigning vice-champion. If Petronas withdraws and the atmosphere seems to be one of disappointment, so it is not because of the results.
On the other hand, the positions of Lynn Jarvis for Yamaha towards this team has never been warm. It has always been ostentatiously identified as a client, whereas elsewhere this type of structure is defined as partners. A recognition that Razali wanted to. Instead, he was presented with the invoice for a more advanced M1, at a higher price than a proposal made by Yamaha to a VR46 adventure which was still in limbo and where everything remained to be proven, at a time when Petronas had clearly demonstrated his abilities.
Petronas also had to find young people and affirm them. Quarterly is the successful example of this, but then, Yamaha installed Red and during the last two Austrian Grands Prix, he teamed up with a Crutchlow 35 years old. He will undoubtedly finish the season with a Dovizioso of the same age. When the two civil status forms are added, the Malaysian colors will appear as the structure with the highest average age. As for Morbidely, Lin Jarvis has already announced his move to the factory team, thus forgetting Razali who is technically still his boss since the Italian-Brazilian has a Petronas contract.
That's a lot and it's undeserved given the sporting results observed in just three years of MotoGP. Razali says that the adventure will continue in other forms and that this new device will be revealed at Misano September 16. But that will only concern MotoGP. Moto3 and Moto2 personnel are crossed out. It will also probably be with Yamaha, but it is not yet official. On the driver side, the rumor leans towards a duo Dovizioso, who should finish the season alongside Red from Aragon, and Darryn Binder came directly from Moto3.
As for Petronas, we will see how the intensity of his high involvement in Formula 1 in the best team on the grid will develop. If it decreases, it is because there will also have been an economic reason for his withdrawal from MotoGP. Otherwise, something was misunderstood politically speaking and this will have to be identified and analyzed by Dorna who sees a generous partner leaving him.
In the meantime, here are the last words on this Petronas adventure formulated by Razlan Razali and Johan Stigefelt.
Razlan Razali begin : " we have had an exceptional run in recent years. From a small start in 2015, we took a big step forward in 2018 when we gained entry into the premier class and built a MotoGP team from scratch. In 2019 we were on the grid and just four races into our rookie season we were in first place. In the seventh race we were already on the podium. In 2020, we achieved the first race victory for a Yamaha satellite team in MotoGP in over 20 years and finished second in the overall team and rider standings. In 2021 we raced with the greatest driver of all time, Valentino Rossi. It's an incredible story ».
The withdrawal of Petronas has a sporting and economic impact in a tense environment
« The team will compete in its final race in Valencia and we thank all our staff, drivers, fans and partners for their support » he continued. “ In particular, we thank Petronas, without whom none of this would have been possible. Together, we pushed the Petronas brand and Malaysian expertise to the forefront and gave unprecedented exposure and coverage to the brand, exponentially exceeding all expectations »
« We also thank the Sepang International Circuit for its foresight and support of emerging Malaysian talents over a long period of time. Our common dream was for a Malaysian rider to fight for the MotoGP World Championship podium. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to achieve this in our team's short life, but we have had tremendous success in other ways. Our final season is not over yet and we continue to aim for the best possible results in all three classes. Thank you all “, he concluded.
Johan Stigefelt added : " thank you to Petronas for the opportunity it has given us over the last three years and for everything we have achieved together. I am sad that we could not continue this project because we created a great team in all three categories of the world championship in a very short time and our vision was that this was a long term project. We have worked with incredible people, fantastic drivers and had the support of great partners and great fans and we express our sincere gratitude to them ».
« Thanks also to Sepang International Circuit with which the relationship dates back to 2015 » he recalled. “ Together we have grown from a small team of two Moto3 riders to one of the greatest teams to ever exist in the MotoGP paddock. I am proud to have been part of this journey and without the Sepang International Circuit it would not have been possible. As a team we took our first victory, in Moto3, at Le Mans with John McPhee in 2019 and we had already secured our first MotoGP pole position at the Spanish GP with Fabio Quartararo at Jerez the same year. We achieved six MotoGP victories with Fabio and Franco Morbidelli in 2020. We have fabulous memories from the last three years, but now we look to the rest of this season to end the year in the best way possible ».
« In particular, I really want to thank all the members of the Moto2 and Moto3 teams, they are not just colleagues but have become true friends in recent years. It is very difficult for me to say goodbye to all these people, especially since they have all been essential to our success and to the structure we have built together over the years. I want to thank them all. We have an exciting new project for the future. We stay in the MotoGP paddock with new jerseys to wear. But we'll talk about that later. For now, we have the remaining races of the 2021 season to race as hard as possible. Thank you all ».
