BREAKING: Valentino Rossi official with the Petronas SRT Team

After months of speculation and waiting, Valentino Rossi has been confirmed at the Sepang Racing Team.

Valentino Rossi will pair up with Franco Morbidelli at the Sepang Racing Team for 2021. It has been news subject to months of speculation which can finally have the lid put on it.

Negotiations regarding his contract and various other things such as team members have continued for longer than expected, prompting rumours of retirement and even Andrea Dovizioso joining the team to appear, however, it is finally confirmed as official.

Rossi has signed a 1 year deal with the team, a potential second year is on the table if Rossi feels he wants to continue, however, it is a possibility he may retire and become a team manager for 2022, running a VR46 MotoGP team with Suzuki machinery.

Razlan Razali, Team Principle:

On behalf of PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team and all its partners, it is an absolute honour to welcome Valentino Rossi – an iconic rider and legend into the team next year. His experience will be a great asset to the team as we move into our third season in MotoGP and we are sure we will be able to learn a lot from Valentino. At the same time, we will do our absolute best to assist him to be competitive to reward him for the trust he has in us as a team. We are humbled by this opportunity and ready to take on the challenge. We believe that the combination of Valentino and Franco will provide a truly formidable force on track to help us in our goal of being as competitive as possible together next year. We can’t wait!

Johan Stigefelt, Petronas SRT Director:

To be able to sign a rider like Valentino Rossi, for what will be only our third year in the MotoGP championship, is amazing. We have evolved from a Moto3 team to a Moto2 team to a MotoGP team in a short time frame and now to be leading the MotoGP teams’ championship and signing one of the greatest riders the sport has ever known is incredible. It has been a long time since Valentino was in a satellite team and we will try our best to help him feel like new again. We want to make sure that he feels comfortable in our team, which we trust in and believe in so much. Our target is to get even better as a team, help Rossi deliver the best results possible and make 2021 a memorable year.

Featured image – www.motogp.com