2021 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team
As a sign of the times, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team broadcast a virtual reality team presentation to official open their 2021 campaign, which will be spearheaded by Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo. The 2021 MotoGP World Championship kicks off in Qatar in March.
This year marks Yamaha‘s sixtieth anniversary of Grand Prix endeavour and the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team is raring to start the 2021 World Championship action. To set the tone for a new season the team found an innovative way to open its doors to the fans.
Viñales joined the Factory Yamaha crew in 2017 and immediately took two back-to-back GP victories. He went on to third place in the rider standings that year. Though the following season proved to be tough, the Spaniard kept his motivation high and won the race at Phillip Island. He finished 2018 in fourth place overall, just five points behind his teammate in third position.
In 2019, he scored two further Grand Prix victories, one in Assen and one in Sepang, and collected the overall bronze medal once more at the end of the season. 2020 was another challenging year. Though the Spaniard was in contention for the championship title until two races before the end, he ultimately finished in sixth place.
Maverick Vinales
“Last year was a crazy year for all of us. We have left that behind us now and we‘ll focus on what‘s to come. With the two tests in Sepang cancelled I will have to wait a bit longer to ride my M1 again. It‘s a long winter break, so I‘m feeling impatient to get to work, but in a good way. After having enjoyed some time of rest during the off-season, we are all excited to start work again. We don‘t have a lot of testing opportunities – just the Qatar Test – so we will have to be on our A-game straight away.”
Quartararo is a new entry to the Yamaha Factory Team, but he is already a household name amongst MotoGP fans thanks to his successful years as part of the Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team. In his MotoGP debut year 2019, he scored seven podiums in total (five second places and two third places), to end his first season on a YZR-M1 in fifth place, earning him the Rookie of the Year title.
The young Frenchman started 2020 with a bang too, securing his first premier class win at Round 1 in Jerez, and he repeated his dominant performance again the very next week at the same track. His third victory came in Catalunya, but he was unable to put his mark on the end of the season. He finished eighth in the overall 2020 standings.
Fabio Quartararo
“I‘m excited to start the new season, especially because I‘m in a new team. Throughout my career I have always been moving from team to team – I like this. It‘s exciting to work with new people and learn new things. I‘m looking forward to the Qatar Test – it can‘t come soon enough! I‘ll finally get to try my Monster Energy Yamaha YZR-M1 for the first time. I‘ve seen quite a lot of photoshopped versions of my number on the Factory Yamaha bike on social media, but – however well they are made – nothing compares to the feeling I got when I saw the real thing for the first time. I can‘t wait to start riding!”
The colour scheme of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP bike remains the same for 2021, with the team‘s YZR-M1, the pit box, and the riders‘ leathers sporting a ’Monster Energy black‘ to ’Yamaha Factory Racing blue‘ gradient. The blend between Yamaha‘s aesthetic and Monster Energy’s instantly recognisable claw branding is also represented in the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team logo and on the team uniforms.
Yamaha also continues a long-term global alliance with the team‘s title sponsor, Monster Energy Company. A multiple-year title-sponsor agreement with the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP Team was signed in the summer of 2018 and came naturally, as Monster Energy Company sponsors multiple Yamaha teams (among them the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP team since 2013) and riders (including Viñales and Quartararo) in various racing classes.
Massimo Meregalli – Team Director
“2020 was a difficult season, but we‘ve learned from it as a team and we are now aware of what we can expect for 2021. We can‘t test in Sepang due to the continuing global pandemic, so the fans will have to wait a bit longer before they can watch our riders in action. We are feeling confident for the Qatar Test. Yamaha‘s Japanese engineers have dedicated a lot of time and effort to developing the M1. We have a lot of new things to try, and we can‘t wait to get started. Another change is that we now have two young riders, who are both definitely very keen to get to work, so we are approaching this preseason with a ’can do‘ attitude. We are 100% dedicated to being #InItToWinIt during the 2021 season.”
The team also announced that throughout the 2021 racing season the bike will continue to feature the slogans of Thai Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Yamaha Motor Philippines, Inc., starting from the extended Qatar Official Test held on 6th-7th March and 10th-12th March 2021.
Newly confirmed Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP Test Team rider Cal Crutchlow will be joining Viñales and Quartararo at the Losail International Circuit. After a seven-year interval, the vastly experienced premier class rider will return to riding the YZR-M1 on 5th March 2021 in the Shakedown Test.
With an eye on continuous innovations and technical progression, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team will also be working closely together with Valentino Rossi, Franco Morbidelli, and the Petronas Yamaha SRT team throughout the 2021 season. Rossi will be riding a full factory YZR-M1 in Petronas Yamaha SRT colours, whilst Morbidelli will be riding the A-Spec YZR-M1. Both satellite riders will receive full support from YMC engineers in 2021, and their input will continue to contribute to the further development of the YZR-M1 throughout the season.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team continues to support Yamaha‘s bLU cRU programme, encouraging a younger generation of on-road riders to follow their dream to become the next MotoGP star. Viñales and Quartararo are ambassadors of the programme and will serve as role models for all Yamaha‘s young talents.
2021 MotoGP Calendar
| Round/Test | Location | Date | MotoE |
| Jerez MotoE Official Test 1 | Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, Spain | 02 MAR | |
| Qatar MotoGP Official Test | Losail International Circuit, Qatar | 06 MAR | |
| Qatar Moto2 & Moto3 Official Test | Losail International Circuit, Qatar | 19 MAR | |
| 1 – Grand Prix of Qatar | Losail International Circuit, Qatar | 28 MAR | |
| 2 – Grand Prix of Doha | Losail International Circuit, Doha | 04 APR | |
| Jerez MotoE Official Test 2 | Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, Spain | 12 APR | |
| 3 – Grande Prémio de Portugal | Algarve International Circuit, Portugal | 18 APR | |
| 4 – Gran Premio Red Bull de España | Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, Spain | 02 MAY | MotoE |
| 5 – SHARK Helmets Grand Prix de France | Le Mans, France | 16 MAY | MotoE |
| 6 – Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley | Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, Italy | 30 MAY | |
| 7 – Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Catalunya | 06 JUN | MotoE |
| 8 – Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland | Sachsenring, Germany | 20 JUN | |
| 9 – Motul TT Assen | TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands | 27 JUN | MotoE |
| 10 – Grand Prix of Finland | KymiRing, Finland | 11 JUL | |
| 11 – Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich | Red Bull Ring – Spielberg, Austria | 15 AUG | MotoE |
| 12 – British Grand Prix | Silverstone Circuit, Great Britain | 29 AUG | |
| 13 – Gran Premio de Aragón | MotorLand Aragón, Aragon | 12 SEP | |
| 14 – Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini | Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, San Marino | 19 SEP | MotoE |
| 15 – Motul Grand Prix of Japan | Twin Ring Motegi, Japan | 03 OCT | |
| 16 – OR Thailand Grand Prix | Chang International Circuit, Thailand | 10 OCT | |
| 17 – Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix | Phillip Island, Australia | 24 OCT | |
| 18 – Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix | Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia | 31 OCT | |
| 19 – Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana | Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia | 14 NOV | |
| 20 – Gran Premio de la República Argentina | Termas de Río Hondo, Argentina | PPD | |
| 21 – Grand Prix of the Americas | Circuit Of The Americas, Americas | PPD |
