MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP FOCUS ON MISANO HOMERACE

Misano Adriatico (Italy), 31st August 2022

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team have travelled to the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for this weekend‘s Round 14 of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship, the Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini.

After a one-week break, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team is going into this weekend‘s Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini fully determined to score some crucial championship points.

The Factory Yamaha team have particularly good memories of the Misano track – which they view as a home GP – as Fabio Quartararo secured his first MotoGP World Championship Title there last year in the Emilia-Romagna GP.

The Frenchman enters the beloved circuit with a 32-point advantage in the overall standings, with seven races to go. Quartararo is fancying his chances to defend his lead this weekend. He enjoys riding his YZR-M1 at this venue, as evidenced by the two second places he scored there, in 2019 and 2021 (San Marino GP).

The Misano track also plays a significant role in Franco Morbidelli‘s career. Not only did he ride his very first Grand Prix there in the Moto2 class in 2013, but he also secured his first MotoGP victory at this circuit in 2020 and made his Factory Yamaha debut there last year during the San Marino GP.

The Italian is hoping to make the upcoming race weekend a strong round for him. He is keen to confirm the positive findings from the Austrian GP and move up from 19th in the rankings. With the Misano GP followed by a further two-day Misano Test, he is feeling confident that he can get a lot of work done on track.

The Misano circuit, constructed in 1972, was a regular scene for Italian Grands Prix throughout the 80s and early 90s. The 4.2 km track is ridden clockwise since a radical renovation was done to meet MotoGP’s safety regulations in 2007 that put the circuit back on the MotoGP calendar. The upgrade also included a new chicane, resulting in the current lay-out of six left and ten right corners, and giving the track increased race excitement.

In this week‘s eSport video, Lorenzo Daretti (aka Trastevere73) and Michael Amara (aka Vindex813) have a hard-fought 3-lap sprint race at the Misano track, providing a little taste of the MotoGP action that is to come this weekend.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

We are excited to race in Misano. The entire team always enjoys this round, and we think of it as our ’home GP‘. This time we arrive here with a lot less pressure on our shoulders than during the 2021 Emilia-Romagna GP when the Title was in reach. The battle at the top of the leader board is very close, like last year, but we can have a more regular GP weekend this time, so that‘s what we are looking forward to. Fabio enjoys riding here, and so does Franky. This track has been significant to both of their careers in the past, and we all feel highly motivated to do a good job again this weekend. We just hope that the riding conditions remain dry or at least consistent throughout these three days.

FABIO QUARTARARO

The race in Austria was really tough but rewarding. That second place was great for the championship because we left one of our more challenging circuits with an extended lead. I‘m happy we are riding in Misano this weekend. Of course, I have still strong memories of winning the Title here last year, but we have to focus on this year‘s championship. We are starting the final third of the season now, which is always tough, so we need to focus and work hard. I‘ve been training pretty much non-stop to assure that I‘m in peak condition. I know that my team are also working as hard as they can, so I think we can get a good result again.

FRANCO MORBIDELLI

After the improved speed on the bike in Spielberg, I’m really looking forward to keeping on working in that direction, keep tweaking, and keep improving this week and throughout next week. The San Marino GP is my home race, and also that of the team in a way, so that adds an extra nice feeling to the event. I like Misano a lot, it‘s a nice track, and I look forward to completing a lot of laps here this race weekend and also during the Misano Test.

Five important days in Misano for the Repsol Honda Team

A race weekend and a two-day test in Misano presents Pol Espargaro and Stefan Bradl with five days of track activity to fine tune the Honda RC213V.

The work continues inside the Repsol Honda Team box as the World Championship rolls into San Marino for Round 14. The Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini was host to a stunning one-two finish for the Repsol Honda Team in 2021, Marc Marquez winning just ahead of Pol Espargaro – who achieved his best MotoGP finish to date. This year’s objective is simple: make progress. Both Espargaro and Bradl will be looking to make the most of the track time to do just that.

Espargaro arrives at the San Marino GP after a tough Austrian weekend but with his trademark determination and never give up attitude. In 2021, the races on the Italian coast were a turning point in the season and Espargaro was able to end the year consistently challenging towards the front of the grid. He and the Repsol Honda Team will be looking to find this boost in performance again and continue the #44’s run of five top-ten finishes in Misano, including two podiums.

Familiar with the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli not just from testing, but also from frequent wildcards over the last few years, Stefan Bradl is again hunting improvements. Recent rounds have seen the German close the gap to the regulars on the MotoGP grid, frequently gaining seconds of time between each session. Bradl is hoping his experience at the Italian circuit will help him to make another step and fight further ahead this weekend.

Pol Espargaro

“Hopefully Misano can give us a boost after a hard weekend in Austria. I am fully focused and committed to continuing to give everything to the Repsol Honda Team and we are all working together to find solutions. The two-day test will be very useful and important for this, we have to work well over the whole event because we then head to a very intense period with the flyways. We stay focused, we stay motivated and we keep on pushing.”

Stefan Bradl

“Misano is a track that I know well from racing here in a the past and also my testing work with HRC. The results have not shown our potential recently and we have to keep working. My speed is coming much better with each race and there are just a few final small points to work out. We have the weekend to be a racer and then it will be back to test rider mode afterwards, let’s see what the full plan is.”

WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team approaches Dovizioso’s farewell in Misano

The San Marino Grand Prix marks the final race for Andrea Dovizioso and round 14 for Darryn Binder in the premier class.

The final chapter is nearly written for the 36-year old Andrea Dovizioso as the Italian will compete in his ultimate Grand Prix at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli this weekend under the WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team banner. Therefore, all eyes are on the three times MotoGP Vice World Champion this weekend, who will hang up his leathers following a 20-year long successful career.

After his feeling aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1 improved and he managed to rescue one World Championship point last time out in Austria, Dovizioso, who did his first ever 125cc World Championship race in 2001, is seeking to resign in style this weekend at his home track under observation of his family, friends and many fans, before he will be replaced inside the WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team by Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow for the remainder of the season.

At the same time, Darryn Binder will contest his 14th premier class race. The MotoGP rookie delivered a sensational ride on race day in Austria to find himself well in the mix for the points scoring positions in the opening laps. Unfortunately, he went down just before half distance of the race and is aiming to repeat his strong performance in order to bring it over the finish line this Sunday.

The Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini is set to kick off this Friday with Free Practice one at 09:55 local time, followed by Free Practice two at 14:10 local time and will have some small surprises in store for the departing local hero.

ANDREA DOVIZIOSO

“San Marino is the last Grand Prix. It will be very unusual and strange after all my career. Yet, I’m very happy to finish in Misano with all my friends and fans. I hope it will be a great weekend. It’s going to be very important to be competitive, trying to score some points and I think we’ll have a good four days there and a great party.”

DARRYN BINDER

“I’m really looking forward to Misano this weekend, especially after the positives we had in Austria, so I’m looking to just keep building on what we’ve been doing there and just keep making steps forward. On top of that, we’ll have the test on Tuesday and Wednesday after the GP, that gives us some time to keep making steps forward and keep on improving. I’m trying to get a nice and good result in Misano.”

Razlan Razali, Founder and Team Principal WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team

“The Misano Grand Prix will be a special home coming round for the team, for most of ours sponsors, especially our title partner WithU. It will be a special and emotional one, being the last race for Andrea Dovizioso and at the same time his home GP. It’s going to be a exceptional and packed weekend for us and of course, on track, we hope that Andrea can do something well and score some points on his farewell race and we also hope that Darryn can continue his form, this time by trying to finish the race and to collect some points at the same time.”

“Of course, at the same time, it will be our last race together with Ramon (Forcada). It has been a pleasure to work with him since 2019. He is a person with great experience and knowledge, who has won several World Championships. We wish him all the best in his next endeavor and want to thank him for all he has done during his amazing career and contributed to our team since nearly four years now.”

Wilco Zeelenberg, Team Manager WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team 

“Misano is always a special race, mainly because of the location on the seaside close to Rimini. Obviously, we have to go to work, but you always meet people that are on their holidays there. So, it’s always nice to come there. This year with round 14 coming up, it’s even more special. Andrea decided to end his career in MotoGP, so it will be his last round. Also due to the fact, that Cal Crutchlow is replacing him and Cal requested to take his crew chief with him during those last six rounds, it looks like it will also be the last round for Ramon (Forcada) with us. Of course, it’s a strange feeling for us, he has been four years with this team and I was working with him since 2010, which means it’s actually 13 seasons together, which is a long time. I’m not sure, how many GP’s he did, but we won three Championships together with Jorge (Lorenzo), which is a big achievement.”

“Saying that, we need to concentrate on the weekend, trying to get the best out of the package. I think we did a great step again last weekend in Austria with Darryn. He was really good there. Unfortunately, he crashed, but he was faster and more consistent. He managed to ride better and easier on his own, so he had a better feeling with the bike, which is important. In terms of Andrea, who scored a point last time out after pushing really hard directly behind factory rider Franky (Morbidelli), it’s obvious that these boys are all fast, but they are not finishing in the places they expect. This is the reason why he decided to stop. But I hope he can really enjoy his final round. We’ve got some nice things coming up together during the weekend, a big dinner and a great party on Sunday, so I only hope he can enjoy it, focusing on his riding. We will help maximum to get the best results.”

MIGUEL OLIVEIRA AND RAÚL FERNANDEZ JUMP ON THE APRILIA PROJECT

TWO YOUNG WINNERS FOR RAZLAN RAZALI’S RNF TEAM

RAZALI: “WE BELIEVE IN TALENT, THEY ARE THE RIDERS WE DREAMED OF”

RIVOLA: “TWO GREAT TALENTS TO MAKE APRILIA’S MOTOGP PROJECT GROW FASTER”

Riders Miguel Oliveira and Raúl Fernandez will be riding Team RNF’s Aprilia RS-GP machines for the next two seasons of the MotoGP World Championship.

After the confirmation of Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales in the official Aprilia Racing team, the pair of riders for the RNF Team is now also defined. Miguel and Raúl will race on the RS-GPs of the team captained by Razlan Razali. Both riders chose and strongly wanted Aprilia, despite several alternative offers, showing great confidence in the project and the potential of the new team.

This completes Aprilia’s rider line-up for 2023 and 2024, with significant timing of the solidity of the Italian project and its new ability to attract winning riders and young talent. The credit goes to the growth of the RS-GP, a protagonist in the current season and now firmly among the most interesting prototypes in the world’s premier motorbike championship.

Miguel Oliveira, Portuguese born in 1995, made his debut in MotoGP in 2019 after emerging as one of the best talents of his generation in the smaller classes. In the premier class he has already collected four victories and two podiums, an enviable list of honours but still not entirely truthful about the real potential of the rider from Almada.

A Spaniard from Madrid, where he was born in 2000, Raúl Fernandez seized his first major result by winning the 2018 CEV Moto3. The promotion to the top-class came after an outstanding rookie season in Moto2. On his debut in 2021, the Spanish rider finished in second place, with a haul of 8 wins, 12 total podiums and 7 pole positions.

Razlan Razali – Founder and Team Principal WithU RNF MotoGP Team

“We are extremely excited to welcome Miguel Oliveira and Raúl Fernandez to the WithU RNF MotoGP Team from 2023. It has not been a simple process, but together with Aprilia we are very clear on the riders that we wanted. They are both young riders with a good combination of experience coming from Miguel and Raúl who I’m personally a fan of since he shocked the Moto2 category last year to become Vice Champion. To finally secure him, is fantastic. Both, Aprilia and we believe in the talent of both riders, so we can’t wait for them to ride for us next season!”

Massimo Rivola – CEO Aprilia Racing

“Our satellite project together with Team RNF is taking shape in the way we conceived it from the very beginning. We have succeeded in securing two extraordinary talents, two riders that I really respect both from a human point of view and for their technical skills. Miguel has shown his talent in all categories, although he is still very young he has already accumulated a lot of experience by winning four races in MotoGP, sometimes with dominant performances. At his side will be Raúl, a rider I make no secret of having sought out several times. I think he is one of the most crystal clear promises of recent years, what he did in Moto2 on his debut speaks volumes about his speed. We’ll have to be good at offering them both a technical package that will allow them to perform to their full potential. I would like to take this opportunity to thank KTM who, showing great sportsmanship, have allowed Miguel and Raúl to ride on our bike immediately after the end of the 2022 championship.”

More, from a press release issued by Tech3 KTM Factory Racing:

Tech3 KTM Factory Racing Wishes the Best to Raul Fernandez 

Following the recent news of Raul Fernandez joining the RNF team next season, the entire Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team would like to wish him the best in his new adventure. The team takes great pride in having had amongst us the Moto2 Vice-Champion make his MotoGP debuts this season. Raul is a great sportsman, very professional, hard worker and a talented rider, who has a bright future in the MotoGP category. With seven races left, Tech3 KTM Factory Racing, together with Raul Fernandez, will make the most of the remainder of 2022 and hope to finish this adventure on a high note.
 

Hervé Poncharal

Team Manager

“Tech3 KTM Factory Racing would like to wish Raul Fernandez the best of luck in MotoGP for next season. Our paths will split at the end of the season, but we were honoured to have the Moto2 Vice-Champion joining us for his debuts in the MotoGP class this year.

Although the results were not the ones expected by both parties in the first half of the season, Raul remained very professional and it was great working with him. He is an exceptional rider and I am confident that he has a bright future in the category.

We still have seven races left in 2022 so we will continue to work hard together to finish our adventure in the right way. Now that he has his future clear and less pressure on his shoulders, I hope that he will enjoy his last few months with us, and hopefully this includes good results.

We look forward to heading to Misano this week.”

More, from a press release issued by KTM Factory Racing:

KTM CONVEY THANKS AND BEST WISHES TO MIGUEL OLIVEIRA AFTER OUTSTANDING JOINT MOTOGP™ STORY

2022 MotoGP news

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Miguel Oliveira will bring a memorable MotoGP™ run to an end with the conclusion of the 2022 MotoGP season.

The Portuguese will leave the Austrian set-up and the KTM racing structure he has been a part of since 2017 in the Moto2™ class. The 27-year-old has won Grands Prix at every single level with KTM and after initially shining as a racer of promise in the 2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup (where he won two rounds in the UK and the Netherlands). His initial GP success, at the 2015 Moto3™ Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, was the first for a Portuguese in the world championship and he was runner-up at the end of that year for the Red Bull KTM Ajo team.

More wins and two top-three championship finishes in three years of Moto2 followed with the Red Bull KTM Ajo squad before Oliveira entered MotoGP in 2019 with Tech3 Racing. Miguel was the first athlete to have scaled each step of the Red Bull Rookies/Moto3/Moto2 and MotoGP KTM GP Academy ladder.

Oliveira completed an educational term in the premier class but used the progressive potential of the KTM RC16 to log two fantastic victories in 2020 – in Austria and at his first ever home Grand Prix appearance at the Algarve International Circuit.

After that campaign he joined the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing squad and was again successful: winning the 2021 Catalan round and appearing on the podium in Italy and Germany. Oliveira made it four wins in three seasons by claiming the inaugural MotoGP event at Mandalika in Indonesia this year. He currently sits 10th in the riders’ standings and has scored points in 11 of the 13 rounds to-date approaching the Gran Premio Gryfyn di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini.

Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “We’ve been lucky to have a rider of Miguel’s intelligence, talent and professionalism in the factory team. When we’ve been able to create the right package for him then he has shown his class and brought some important input into the development of the KTM RC16. It’s something we’ll always appreciate. Obrigado, Miguel!”

Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “A big thanks to Miguel for everything he’s brought to our MotoGP programme and for all the strong values that he represents. He came through our KTM system but he also helped make each step valid and competitive by being on the podium 36 times and taking 16 wins for us, four of those in MotoGP. The victory in Austria in 2020 was simply amazing and only bettered by the dominance and emotion in Portugal later in the season. He really showed young riders the ‘orange way’ through the MotoGP pyramid. He’s a total Pro, a family man and he’ll be missed in our section of the paddock for sure. We wish him all the best for his future in the MotoGP class.”