FIRST LOOK: Morbidelli, Quartararo unveil Petronas Yamaha colours

This is the livery with which the new Petronas Yamaha Sepang team will make its MotoGP race debut during the 2019 season.

Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo helped unveil the colours of Malaysia’s first MotoGP team during a special ceremony at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Morbidelli joins Yamaha’s new satellite team having been rookie of the year with Marc VDS Honda in 2018. The Italian will have an A-spec M1, meaning he will start the season with equal machinery to factory Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales.

Quartararo meanwhile is stepping up to MotoGP having taken his first grand prix victory in Moto2 last season. The young Frenchman will have a B-spec machine for his debut year.

Also present for today’s launch were the Sepang Moto2 and Moto3 projects.

Khairul Idham Pawi, Malaysia’s first and so far only grand prix winner, is joining his local team to race the Kalex chassis in Moto2.

In Moto3, race winner John McPhee arrives alongside Ayumu Sasaki on the team’s Honda machines.