Official Malaysia Test Marks New Beginning For WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team

04-02-2022

Official Malaysia Test Marks New Beginning For WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team

Official Malaysia test marks new beginning for WithU YAMAHA RNF MotoGP team .

A fresh start awaits Andrea Dovizioso and Darryn Binder this weekend at the Sepang International Circuit.

The long awaited return to action of the MotoGP is set to happen this week at the Sepang International Circuit, which simultaneously marks the comeback of the World Championship to Malaysia and the opening of the 2022 season for the newly formed WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP team. Just shortly after presenting their fresh colors, the international crew is eager to try their Yamaha YZR-M1 machines for the first time this year.

Andrea Dovizioso, who already experienced five race weekends and a final test in 2021, aims to become even more acquainted with the 2022 Yamaha M1. The experienced Italian will enter his 20th full World Championship season and is yearning for valuable track time ahead of the 21 races this year.

On the other side of the WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP garage, Darryn Binder had the chance to use three additional days riding at the Sepang International Circuit just a few days earlier. The premier class rookie took good advantage of the shakedown test and is impatiently waiting now to share the track with the entire MotoGP class field.

The official IRTA test takes place on Saturday, the 5th and Sunday the 6th February at the demanding 5.543-kilometer circuit that has traditionally been host of the season preparations until 2020. Following this first roll-out of the year, the WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team riders together with the rest of the championship will head over to Indonesia for a three-days test at the new Mandalika Circuit Indonesia, which will be included in the World Championship calendar for the very first time in 2022.

Andrea Dovizioso

"I'm really happy to arrive in Malaysia, which is one of my favorite tracks and one of the best circuits to test. I'm super excited to ride the Yamaha in Sepang and interested to understand how this test is going to be, to check my feeling with the bike. I'm very happy to do Malaysia and then also Indonesia afterwards in order to be as ready as possible for the first round in Qatar."

Darryn Binder

"These three days of shakedown have been pretty intense already, so it was good to get two days of rest, but we took it step by step and improved each day. Now I'm really looking forward to have someone like Dovi with a load of experience next to me in the garage. I hope that I can work with him and learn a lot from him. The plan is the same every day here, arrive and trying to learn as much as possible, keep moving forward and gaining a little bit, while not doing anything too crazy. I just want to progress each day, to figure things our and further improve gradually."

Razlan Razali

Founder and Team Principal WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team

"For the upcoming official MotoGP winter test, we have two different objectives and situations for both, Andrea Dovizioso and Darryn Binder. to begin with Darryn; after three days of shakedown with many, many laps, hot and humid conditions, the aim for Darryn is not to focus on lap times, but rather to get more comfortable on his bike, understand the machine, understand different levels of grip, technical details and so on. He is getting ready for the official test now, in which we expect him to further improve his times and be amongst the rookies in the championship. For Andrea, being an experienced rider, I think he has his own set of targets to see how much potential the 2022 YZR-M1 has and compare it to the other Yamaha factory riders. The Sepang test will be a good indication on his current conditions, developments and capacity to fight in the World Championship."

Wilco Zeelenberg

Team Manager WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team

"After three fruitful days we are quite pleased with Darryn's results during the shakedown test. Just two days of rest and now, we aim to continue our progress during the official test. We are anticipating that with excitement, of course with all the competitors on track. There's a lot to follow and a lot to learn again for Darryn. For Andrea's side, of course, we are looking forward to the first test with him in 2022. We already used a lot of materials during the last test in Jerez in 2021 and at this point, we are ready to start the new season. He has prepared himself and is fit. We Can't wait to see all the 24 boys on track starting their first pre-season winter test this year!"