Next Stop for WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team: Catalunya

01-06-2022

Next Stop for WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team: Catalunya

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya awaits Andrea Dovizioso and Darryn Binder for a back to back round.

Just a few nights of rest after the busy Italian Grand Prix in Mugello and the WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team will be back in action this weekend for the ninth round of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, targeting progression.

Andrea Dovizioso had a tricky home round last time out, suffering after a tough Qualifying to catch up and continue finding a decent feeling aboard his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine. This weekend, the Italian faces a completely new challenge at the Catalan circuit, which is totally different to the Mugello layout. Dovizioso and his WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team will give everything again to reach a turnaround of his rather difficult season so far.

MotoGP rookie Darryn Binder, who is based in Andorra during the European season of the World Championship, aims to continue where he left off last week at an event that comes closest to a home round for him. The South African showed some great progress during the Italian round, having a decent pace throughout all the race and even finishing as the second best Yamaha rider.

The Catalan Grand Prix kicks off with Free Practice one this Friday at 09:55 local time like usual, followed by FP2 at 14:10 local time.

Andrea Dovizioso

WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Racing Team

“The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a wonderful track, but normally the grip is very low there and that might be difficult for us. I don’t know how it will feel to ride the Yamaha YZR-M1 there, so I’m curious, but at the same time, after the weekend in Mugello, I have to admit, that it will be challenging. Yet, it’s a completely different track, so we will see what is coming up on us.”

Darryn Binder

WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Racing Team

“I’m really excited to get to Barcelona! It’s a track, that I really enjoy riding at. It’s where I’ve had my best results in Moto3. It was the place, where I first ever scored points in Moto3 and took my first victory, so I’m very curious to get there. Especially, after a very positive weekend in Mugello, I’m hoping to just keep the momentum rolling and let’s see what we can do.”

Razlan Razali

WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Racing Team

“Coming off the back of round eight, Mugello, we proceed to Barcelona this weekend and have another back to back round. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is another track with long straight, which of course favors the bikes of the competitors, but we know that the Barcelona circuit has also been a good place for the Yamaha YZR-M1s. We would like to see Darryn to carry his momentum from Mugello to Barcelona, continue with his good settings and continue to improve and progress. For Andrea, we will need to deeply evaluate the situation that he’s in and the team will do the best to try to turn his season around. It’s going to be difficult, but we will never give up doing the best for the rider, for the team and for our sponsors!”

Wilco Zeelenberg

WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Racing Team

“After a quite good Mugello race, especially for Darryn, we are heading over to Barcelona for round nine, which is actually nearly halfway through the season already. We are looking forward to Barcelona, the track is nice and the atmosphere is great. All the riders know the track quite good. We are looking forward to see if the steps we have made with Darryn also work in Barcelona. We are still trying to find the best base setup for Andrea to see if we can help him with something out of the box. That’s probably what it takes to get him out of this momentum. Let’s hope the weather is nice and we can enjoy the Catalan sunshine.”