It is now assured, thanks to Razlan Razali, Malaysia will always be represented in the Grand Prix. But it was not easy and, from mid-August, the boss found himself walking on the edge of an abyss towards which the withdrawal of his compatriot Petronas for reasons of personal conflicts was pushing him. He had to reorganize everything, make sacrifices, find another partner and rethink his approach. It was that or disappear. But as he says so well: “ we then had to react very quickly, which is a basic requirement in this profession ". Like eating your hat...
The ambition of Razlan Razali in the heyday of his adventure with the compatriot Petronas was to reveal young people and if possible Malaysians, to take them to the MotoGP firmament. A network has been set up, marking out a route from Moto3 to the top via Moto2. On the young side, no hope from South-East Asia has emerged, but fabio quartararo was still revealed. Victories were also celebrated and an Italian-Brazilian world vice-champion named Franco Morbidelli felicity. A course that many would like to claim in the paddock, especially in such a short time, and yet, these results have not brought any legitimacy.
Razlan Razali thus saw Fabio Quartararo grabbed by the factory team Yamaha who has always identified him more as a client than as a partner, Franco Morbidelli followed while Valentino Rossi arrived without impressing Petronas who withdrew. The hopeful team, as it was hoped for, even brought together two pilots whose 42 years and 35 years identified her as the one with the highest average age on the starting grid. This was the case when Crutchlow came to fill the ranks alongside the Doctor.
A situation that has persisted sinceAndrea Dovizioso settled into the box, but this time as a starter. Yet, Razali avait clairement dit qu’il n’en voulait pas, au nom de la jeunesse. Oui mais voilà… “In this sport, MotoGP is a business. Je dois suivre les souhaits des donateurs. Notre philosophie lors du choix d’un pilote a donc changé Says Razali on speedweek. " Lorsque Petronas s’est retiré, mon objectif était de sauver les deux précieuses places MotoGP à Dorna. Parce que si vous renoncez à cette “entrée MotoGP”, vous ne la récupérerez jamais. It became a question of survival ».
Razlan Razali returns to the Raul Fernandez case
The targets Raul fernandez et Toprak Razgatlioglu were missed, and this also hurt the overall project. On the case of the first cited which caused much ink and saliva to flow, Razali gives his version: “ our interest in Raúl was very strong. It wasn't so much about what we or Yamaha wanted to pay him. We tried everything to get it. I know we stepped on some people's toes in the process. But we had to try. We always respect existing contracts. There is an exit clause or “buy-out” option in every contract. Yamaha and we had a certain amount in mind. But the amount requested climbed higher and higher. At some point it became too risky.” Then the other event happened which obviously changed the situation: “At the beginning of August during the first Austrian Grand Prix, we encountered the problem of Petronas' withdrawal. Then we could no longer continue with this plan ».
From there, we had to retrace our steps and forget certain positions. Including the one aboutAndrea Dovizioso... " The Yamaha managers understood our new situation with the team's new sponsor. We negotiated with WITHU very quickly. We knew they wanted to be the title sponsor. So we reached a compromise. We hired Dovi, which meant we deviated from my original philosophy. We hired Moto3 rider Darryn Binder as a rookie. It's a big risk ».
The last mention about the South African will certainly reinforce Aleix Espargaró in his concern to see him arrive from Moto3 without real references... But when your back is against the wall, you don't really have any room for maneuver..." New contracts had to be negotiated with Dorna and Yamaha, and I had to found a new company. In the meantime, we were able to present the WITHU Yamaha RNF MotoGP team. What we had to do from mid-August until now was crazy " finished Razali who couldn't save everyone: " To save the MotoGP plans, we had to cancel the Moto3 and Moto2 teams. We will continue to lead the MotoE team ».
