Yamaha “surprised” by RNF’s Aprilia MotoGP announcement timing
Yamaha MotoGP team boss Lin Jarvis admits the timing of RNF Racing’s announcement to ditch the Japanese marque in favour of Aprilia for 2023 came as a surprise.
On Friday at the Italian Grand Prix, RNF announced it had reached a two-year deal with Aprilia to become its satellite squad from 2023.
This brings an end to a four-year relationship between RNF – and formerly Petronas SRT – and Yamaha, which yielded six victories and a runner-up spot in the championship for Franco Morbidelli in 2020.
RNF, which only had a deal with Yamaha through to the end of 2022, was reportedly unhappy with its treatment from the Japanese marque, which prompted its Aprilia switch.
Speaking to motogp.com, Jarvis says he was surprised by the timing of RNF’s announcement as it came while the team was in a meeting with Yamaha informing it of its decision to go with Aprilia.
“Of course, it’s not an ideal situation,” Jarvis said of RNF’s split with Yamaha. “We’ve always had satellite teams, for as far as I can remember.
“We always had more than two bikes on the grid. It’s never nice when you get to the end of a relationship.
“We have until the end of the season, we remain partners with RNF.
“But they took their decision to move to Aprilia for the future, we respect that decision.
“I was a little surprised with the announcement yesterday, because it was issued while we were in the meeting [with RNF] hearing the decision which was a little bit unusual.
“We respect the decision and move on from there.”
Lin Jarvis, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Jarvis says Yamaha will not have a satellite team on the grid in 2023 and will only run its two factory bikes, which are likely to be ridden by reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo – who is yet to sign a new deal – and Franco Morbidelli, who has a contract for 2023.
“We will have two bikes on the grid next year, obviously we’ve always had satellite teams as well,” he added. “In reality, every other team in the MotoGP paddock has existing contracts with manufacturers.
“At this moment there are no alternatives, but that is okay for us.
“We focus on the factory team and getting the bike up to speed, we will be focusing and dedicating on getting our bike in the best possible shape.
“That’s fine and we’re confident we can do that also with two riders.”
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