Three huge announcements in three short days.. Let’s recap!
January 28th: Maverick Vinales renewed his contract with the Factory Yamaha team, securing his seat until the end of the 2022 season.
January 29th: 2019 Rookie of the Year, Fabio Quartararo, announced that he will be continuing on with Yamaha in 2021 and 2022 but this time, as a factory rider! That’s right, the young frenchman will be joining Maverick Vinales in replacement for Valentino Rossi.
January 30th: A short two months after his (sudden) retirement in Valencia, five-time World Champion, Jorge Lorenzo announced that he will be partnering with Yamaha once again as the 2020 Factory Yamaha test rider.
As far as the remaining two Yamaha riders go…
Satellite Yamaha rider, Franco Morbidelli has yet to release any future plans involving (or not involving) the Petronas team.
MotoGP legend, Valentino Rossi has openly shared that he will be waiting until mid-season to make a decision regarding his future in the series. If he chooses to continue racing, Yamaha has already promised him a Factory-spec YZR-M1 bike with full support from the engineering team.