PETRONAS Yamaha SRT take on new challenge in the USA

The MotoGP World Championship moves on from Argentina to the USA this weekend, as the PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team take to Austin, Texas, for the third race of the season. Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli return to the Circuit of The Americas -also known as COTA-, at which both have great memories from their time in other Grand Prix classes. The track has the most corners on the entire calendar, with 20.

Fabio Quartararo achieved his first points as a MotoGP rider in Argentina, following a great weekend for the Frenchman. Those eight points make him the joint-best rookie of the year so far and now the PETRONAS Yamaha SRT rider returns to the scene of his first Grand Prix podium, taken in 2015, in only his second Moto3 outing.

Franco Morbidelli is a previous winner at COTA, on route to the Moto2 title in 2017. Now in his second season in MotoGP, the Italian wants to perform at a similarly high level to that which he showed in the opening two rounds and put his unfortunate last lap crash in Argentina behind him. At last year's GP of The Americas, Morbidelli finished 21st.

The third race of the 2019 season takes place on Sunday at 2pm local time, over a total of 20 laps.

Franco Morbidelli

PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team

"I really like the Circuit of The Americas; I have already won there in the past, in the year that I won the Moto2 World Championship. Last year it was the track where we had the most problems, but this year everything is different. We can take positives away from the entire weekend in Argentina last time out, apart from the final half-lap. The good race we had gives us a lot of motivation to go to Austin and do a good job all weekend. We want to cap that with a good result in the race, because the work we are doing is very good. We have to be positive, continue to improve and keep on the same path."

Fabio Quartararo

PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team

"We arrive in Austin after taking our first points of the year in Argentina - also my first in the MotoGP class. COTA is one of the toughest circuits on the calendar. Both in Moto3 and in Moto2 it has always been difficult for me to adapt to, although I have also been able to achieve good results there. We have to go steady, like we did in Argentina. If we work as hard as we did there, it will be easier to adapt my riding to the circuit and to the Yamaha YZR-M1. We took a good eighth place at Termas de Rio Hondo, which made amends for the result in Qatar, so I am motivated to continue doing well."