MOTOGP SHAKE-UP
Is Johnny Rea in the frame for Petronas MotoGP ride?
‘A rider like Rea could be very interesting’
Astar-studded list of candidates to join Yamaha’s MotoGP line-up in 2022 features Andrea ovizioso, ani Pedrosa and World Superbike legend Jonathan Rea.
They are three of the most experienced and successful names that feature on a long list of potential candidates, as the aftershock of Maverick Viñales’ bombshell decision to quit Yamaha at the end of 2021 continues to reverberate.
The impact of Viñales’ move is hitting the high-profile Malaysian-backed Petronas SRT project hardest of all.
A planned quiet and relaxing start to the five-week summer break has given way to a flurry of meetings, with Petronas Yamaha SRT eager to finalise their 2022 line-up by the Misano round in mid September. Speaking to MCN, Petronas SRT Team irector Johan Stigefelt said the immediate priority was to work out star rider Franco Morbidelli’s future before other options can be pursued.
The 2020 MotoGP runner-up is contracted to Petronas SRT for next season but the 2 -year-old Italian is being tipped to fill the Viñales vacancy and reunite with Fabio uartararo in the official factory team.
That could leave Petronas SRT searching for two new riders. Petronas SRT are still waiting for final confirmation from veteran Valentino Rossi about his future. But it’s looking increasing likely that he will call time on his career after a disappointing season in which he’s not finished higher than 10th.
Not surprisingly given the attractiveness of the seat available, Stigefelt has been inundated with approaches from riders and representatives. But it’s clear that the preferred option became a non-starter last weekend at onington when Toprak Razgatlioglu signed a two-year extension to his Yamaha WSBK deal see page 8 . Aged just 24, the talented Turk was seen as the ideal choice for Petronas SRT, whose ethos is to nurture young talent like they did with uartararo the man who is now leading the series. Stigefelt said: “We were targeting Toprak. We’d discussed that with Yamaha and he would have been the perfect rider for us. It would have been great to see what he could have done in MotoGP.”
Should Petronas SRT be in the market for two riders, then one seat would definitely go to experienced talent.
That’s why names like ovizioso, Pedrosa and Rea have been linked with a prized Y R-M1 seat next season.
MCN understands that tentative contact has been made between Rea and Yamaha, although both parties are remaining tight-lipped on the issue while the Iwata factory and Petronas SRT ponder their next move in the rider market. Although he would be a rookie in MotoGP, Rea has been a race winner in WSB for the last 13 years. And without a highprofile K rider currently in the premier class, orna would certainly endorse any potential swoop for Rea, who signed an undisclosed multi-year contract with Kawasaki in WSB last year. Stigefelt added: “A rider like Johnny could be very interesting. Johnny, ovi and ani are all of a similar age and are fantastic riders who have achieved so much and they are all people we’d have to consider. But we need to discuss with Yamaha what is the right way for us.”