The Mountains are Calling: WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team is off to Austria

17-08-2022

The Mountains are Calling: WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team is off to Austria

Darryn Binder and Andrea Dovizioso together with the WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team are heading to Spielberg full of curiosity.

Round 13 of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship is approaching fast. After the WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team and the entire circus returned to action less than two weeks ago in Silverstone following a long summer break, the entire squad is ready and eager to progress further this weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix in the picturesque area around Spielberg.

Premier class rookie Darryn Binder is showing a steep learning curve with each round this year as he is still set to relearn all the circuits aboard his Yamaha YZR-M1. Although he just made it into the top 20 in Great Britain last time out, the South African managed to gather a lot of experience, which he can rely on this weekend at the Red Bull Ring.

On the other hand, Andrea Dovizioso will approach his second last race weekend in the MotoGP class after he announced his early retirement. All the more he’ll be eager to finally score some points again, as he missed out on the top 15 by just a whisker last time out in Silverstone. The Italian has some fond memories of the Austrian track, where he delivered some historic battles in the past.

The race weekend starts traditionally with Free Practice one this Friday at 09:55 local time followed by the second practice session of the weekend at 14:10 local time.

Darryn Binder

WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team

“I’m really excited to be heading to Austria. I’ve always enjoyed riding there in the past and I’m looking forward to see the new layout after turn one. I think this is going to be quite interesting. I can’t wait to get there. I’ve been looking at the weather, but it looks a bit unsure. It seems there’s a possibility of rain, so it can be very interesting. I’m looking forward to see what happens.”

Andrea Dovizioso

WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team

“With the circuit in Austria, I only connect very important memories. I don’t know what I can do there with the Yamaha YZR-M1, but it’s a really wonderful place, the surroundings are beautiful, you can breathe fresh air and I’m happy to come back to Spielberg to compete in a race there once again.”

Razlan Razali

WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team, Founder and Team Principal

“It’s the penultimate round ahead of Andrea’s retirement in Misano. We have to see what he can do, as he didn’t race in Austria last year. For both riders the target is to get some points at the Red Bull Ring, a circuit that is not traditionally good for Yamaha, but we have seen Fabio (Quartararo) making it to the podium there last year and a couple of years ago with us. Therefore, we just have to do the best we can for our riders this weekend.”

Wilco Zeelenberg

WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Racing Team, Team Manager

“Austria is not one of our favorite circuits, even though the facilities are fantastic, but the track layout doesn’t really suit our bike. Saying that, they changed now the first long straight after the first corner and built a chicane due to safety reasons. So, they really are trying to avoid these dangerous crashes that we saw in the last years. Now it’s quite a stop and go style, which is not really easy, but anyway, we are ready for it. We had a good break after Assen of course. Restarting in Silverstone was nice, the weather was good and the results have been so-so. Yet, we finished the race with both riders and look forward now to continue this in Austria.”