The rider dilemma facing Petronas SRT for MotoGP 2022

KTM's blocking of Raul Fernandez and Yamaha's unwillingness to commit to Petronas SRT has meant that no rider has yet been officially confirmed for next season by the Malaysian team.

Nobody could have imagined when SRT's entry into MotoGP for 2019 was presented that the team determined to become the benchmark among the independents would be struggling three years later for riders. The summer holidays are already behind us and it is still looking for riders to defend its colours next year - with Franco Morbidelli considered unlikely to see out the two-year deal he signed last year and replace the outgoing Maverick Vinales at the factory Yamaha team.

The rushed nature of the situation is striking, especially because SRT has the factory-spec bike that in 2021 leads the overall points table with Fabio Quartararo at the works team, and has accumulated the most victories with five.

The question that arises is obvious: how did it get to this point? If the question is logical, the answer is just as clear: because SRT cannot decide unilaterally, but is bound to Yamaha, which to date has conditioned rather than helped it.

Apart from charging much more for its prototypes than, for example, Ducati receives from its customers, Yamaha has made its position of strength prevail without listening to the wishes of its affiliate. After two seasons at SRT in which Quartararo emerged as the star he later became, Yamaha added him to its factory team and forced SRT to make room for the rider the Frenchman replaced. Valentino Rossi is the most universally-known rider around, but did not fit at all with SRT's philosophy of promoting younger riders.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing Valentino Rossi, Petronas Yamaha SRT

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

After Vinales slammed the door on his second year of his Yamaha contract, the Iwata-based manufacturer is expected to promote Morbidelli, who will once again share a garage with Quartararo.

Having gone fishing at its neighbour's house in two consecutive seasons, one might think that Yamaha would give SRT a helping hand in finding a replacement for Morbidelli, who has emerged as the team's flagship rider. But in reality, the opposite is the case.

Far from rowing in the same direction, Yamaha has SRT's hands and feet tied when it comes to signing riders. With the investment made and the treatment received, it is not surprising that the team tried to ally itself with Suzuki as a new travelling companion, but the Hamamatsu hierarchy has once again put the articulation of a Suzuki satellite structure on hold.

Yamaha has a number of agreements with KTM, some of them beyond the borders of MotoGP, that make it inadvisable for SRT to make a move that could be construed as an act of disloyalty by the Japanese company towards the Austrian marque

Despite awaiting Rossi's decision regarding his future, which was announced last week, SRT has been working for months on a replacement for the retiring legend. The first choice was always Fernandez, among other things because the Spaniard thought - and still does - that the M1 is the bike on which he could best exploit his strengths.

After various approaches, SRT boss Razlan Razali met with the refusal of KTM, which is in no mood to lose another of its diamonds as already happened with Pramac signing Styrian GP winner Jorge Martin.

PLUS: The irony and vindication behind a rookie’s maiden MotoGP victory 

In the middle of Austrian GP practice at the Red Bull Ring last Saturday, KTM made official its signing of Fernandez with Tech3 for 2022 in a move that made clear the Spaniard would not go anywhere else. Neither Iker Lecuona nor Danilo Petrucci, the pair sharing the garage under the tutelage of Herve Poncharal - nor the French executive - had been informed of the announcement.

Raul Fernandez, Red Bull KTM Ajo

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Despite KTM's lack of sensitivity, the most striking aspect is Yamaha's unwillingness to cooperate with the wishes of Fernandez, a youngster whose demeanour has changed in recent days. Far from seeing his move to MotoGP as the opportunity of a lifetime, Fernandez feels that the circumstances in which he will arrive in the premier class - with a bike and a team that do not suit him - may well jeopardise his medium-term career.

When Dazn's MotoGP reporter Izaskun Ruiz asked Fernandez last Saturday at the Red Bull Ring if he will be where he wants to be in 2022, the blunt reply was "No".

Yamaha has a number of agreements with KTM, some of them beyond the borders of MotoGP, that make it inadvisable for SRT to make a move that could be construed as an act of disloyalty by the Japanese company towards the Austrian marque. KTM ensures that it has the upper hand in most of the contracts it signs, in a strategy very similar to that of Red Bull in Formula 1, which did and does as it pleased without regard for the preferences of its contracted drivers.

Apart from the release clause contained in Fernandez's contract, which amounts to 500,000 euros, KTM has other privileges over him - among others, the right of first refusal to any offer he receives - as well as legal services that could make any case that has to be arbitrated in court more expensive and lengthy. All of which has led the Spaniard and SRT to realise that they will not be able to fulfil their wishes in the short term, unless KTM interpret that it makes no sense to give an RC16 to a rider who does not want it - an unlikely outcome.

With Morbidelli likely headed to the factory Yamaha squad and Fernandez confirmed at Tech3, SRT focused on making an offer to Rossi protege and Moto2 frontrunner Marco Bezzecchi. The proposal is much more attractive on a sporting level than on an economic level.

If accepted, the winner of last week's Moto2 race would have the factory M1 that Morbidelli would have initially been entitled to, but with a salary well below what Morbidelli would have received at around 200,000 euros per year. A week ago, Razali was certain that the deal would go through, but at Spielberg, everything went into 'standby'.

"The problem is that the offers from Petronas are well below the cache of the riders they are looking for," the agent of one of the many riders on a very long and varied list, with names such as Bezzecchi, Lecuona, Xavi Vierge, Augusto Fernandez and even Petronas Moto3 rider Darryn Binder, told Autosport.

Marco Bezzecchi, Sky Racing Team VR46

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

In the event of not being able to tie down Bezzecchi, it would not be surprising if SRT opted for a less ambitious line-up, with two youngsters to whom it would offer two M1s of the specification known as 'B-spec', which is less evolved and expensive than the official bikes. That would give the executives time to articulate an attractive proposition to tempt a top rider in 2023.

SRT's main selling point revolves around the successes of Quartararo (2019) and Morbidelli (2020). But that may not be enough to convince a youngster like Bezzecchi, who is fully integrated in the VR46 family. Part of the technical team that would accompany him in the jump already works with him in Moto2. Against him is the fact that he would compete with a 2021 Ducati, which on paper would be a step below that of his garage neighbour Luca Marini.

The proposal for Bezzecchi is much more attractive on a sporting level than on an economic level. If accepted, he would have the factory M1 that Morbidelli would have initially been entitled to, but with a salary well below Morbidelli of around 200,000 euros per year

"We would like to see Luca and Marco together," says Rossi, the cornerstone of it all. "It's the logical move considering that the philosophy of the Academy is that our teams are fed only by our riders."

"I have both offers on the table, VR46 and Petronas, I have not yet focused on analysing the details," said Bezzecchi, who does not seem to be worried about the possible conflict that his arrival in the premier class could generate.

"The decision will come after the second race in Austria. I know that I want to go up to MotoGP next year, but I am not in a hurry to decide with whom."

Marco Bezzecchi, Sky Racing Team VR46

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images