With the start of the MotoGP 2020 season being postponed as late as August, riders and teams are already starting to feel the pressure to compete and perform their level best this season as well as prepare for some monumental changes next season in 2021.
We got a few details from the Team Principal of Petronas SRT (Sepang Racing Team), Dato’ Razlan Razali, to help clarify a few things, including the prospect of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo racing with them.
A lot of scenarios are being played out depending on whether the 2020 MotoGP championship takes place or not. If it does, Petronas Yamaha SRT is looking to fight for the championship as well as a number of race victories with Fabio Quartararo. Judging by how well both Fabio and Franco Morbidelli did in pre-season testing, that goal is closer than ever.
But what if there are no races this year? According to Dato’ Razlan, “To me, the worst-case scenario if there’s no championship this year. I would assume that in 2021, everyone will revert to the 2020 arrangement, because we will insist, and we will fight for Fabio to be with us. We really look forward to 2020 because of what he did last year.”
“We got him a new full-spec factory bike like Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales, and he did well in the testing. So, we know we can fight for the championship. in fact, we target for him to come in second with a couple of wins. We want that for the team.”
As for other prospects, Dato’ Razlan added, “We do have two or three other riders we are monitoring closely from Moto2. Our principles still remain that we want young talented riders. That’s what we want. We all know about the likes of Rossi and Lorenzo who want to join the team without even formally discussing with us. But for us, at the moment, our principles remain that we want to develop young riders.”
The team is also considering their very own Moto2 rider, Xavi Vierge to pull off something spectacular this year once the championship restarts. If his 2020 results are impressive, there’s also a chance for him to get promoted up to the Petronas Yamaha SRT MotoGP squad for 2021 (in the event that Franco Morbidelli does not perform well in 2020).
