Monster Energy Yamaha’s MotoGP team unveiled its new bike liveries and riders in a special presentation on February 15, 2021. The official announcement is virtual, but the current plan for the upcoming MotoGP 2021 season is not – and everyone up and down in the paddock hoping to keep it that way.
Did you know that 2021 is also Yamaha’s 60th anniversary in Grand Prix motorcycle racing? If you don’t know, now you know. To get this momentous year off to the right start, Monster Yamaha brought out its 2021 team riders Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo for the official launch.
Fans of the Yamaha MotoGP factory team have seen Viñales in great action on tracks around the world since 2017. Like most of us, 2020 was not in the best of circumstances. Although he had a promising start to the season, Trusty # 12 was only able to finish sixth in the 2020 drivers’ championship. He is clearly hoping for a much better run in 2021.
23 photos
Anyone who’s been following the trials and difficulties of the MotoGP paddock for a few years will likely remember Fabio Quartararo signing with Monster Energy Yamaha in early 2020. For the remainder of the 2020 season, he continued to drive with Yamaha’s satellite team, where he finished eighth overall – although he also had a factory YZR-M1 available for the duration. The young racing driver unfortunately signed COVID in December 2020, which kept him from training for some time. However, according to an Instagram post on Feb.10, he’s happily recovering and getting back to his physical fitness.
When Quartararo signed up for Monster Energy Yamaha, it wasn’t clear whether existing Yamaha star Valentino Rossi would continue to compete in MotoGP after 2020. If the Doctor wanted to continue, Yamaha promised to also provide him with a factory YZR-M1 for the 2021 season, despite being transferred to the Petronas Yamaha SRT satellite team. In other words, if Rossi stayed, he and Quartararo would effectively swap places for 2021. As it turns out, this is how we go into the new season.
Of course, no MotoGP premiere team is complete with a competent test driver. Cal Crutchlow will play this role for 2021. Like everyone else, his first opportunity to get seats on the 2021 YZR-M1 will be during the shakedown test at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar in early March.
To a great 2021 season in MotoGP for both Monster Energy Yamaha and the rest of the paddock.