After initial tests at Valencia and Jerez last year, Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo will kick off the first session of 2019 at the Sepang International Circuit tomorrow.
After initial tests at Valencia and Jerez last year, Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo will kick off the first session of 2019 at the Sepang International Circuit tomorrow.
It will be home territory for the PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team tomorrow as the first preseason tests of 2019 get underway in MotoGP.
Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo already felt the support of the Malaysian fans at the team presentation last week in Kuala Lumpur and they will have plenty of backing when they roll their Yamaha YZR-M1 machines out of pit-lane at the Sepang International Circuit on Wednesday.
The technical staff and riders have three days in which to work on the set-up of the bikes that they will use to contest the first ever premier-class season for PETRONAS Yamaha SRT.
Franco Morbidelli quickly stood out on his debut with PETRONAS Yamaha SRT last November, finishing sixth fastest at both Valencia and Jerez, having lapped close to the top throughout.
At Sepang, the Italian will continue with his process of adapting to the YZR-M1 and refining the set-up, with just one month to go before the season starts.
Fabio Quartararo got his first taste of a MotoGP bike in the Valencia test and by the end of the Jerez session just ten days later he already found himself inside the top half of the timesheets.
The Frenchman is targeting the 2019 MotoGP Rookie of the Year title and he will continue working towards that objective with his Yamaha in the upcoming Malaysian test.
The first preseason test of 2019 will run from 6-8 February at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, with the first day of action kicking off at 10am local time and running until 6pm.
#21 Franco Morbidelli
āIt was fantastic to see how many people turned out in Malaysia to see the team presentation last week. We have had some really fun days in the country and we could really feel the support of the people. Now we get preseason back underway and it will be important to understand the bike more during this first test of 2019 to give the best possible feedback and see if the updates work correctly. We have only had two tests so far and I feel like I still have a lot to learn if I am going to be fast. This will be our first time riding at the teamās home track so we want to do a good job and show how much great work has already been done by the team and Yamaha over the winter.ā
#20 Fabio Quartararo
āAfter experiencing my first ever MotoGP team launch and spending a week on various other commitments that were all new to me, now it is time to get back to preseason, starting with the test at Sepang International Circuit. I am really looking forward to riding a MotoGP bike again. We have worked very hard over the winter with the objective of being as prepared as possible when we arrived here in Malaysia, and I think I am ready. We will have to adapt to the new bike, which will be the first goal, so we need to work hard on that over the coming days. It will be my first time on a MotoGP bike at this track so I will also have to adapt my lines around this spectacular track.ā
