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PETRONAS Sprinta debut at the Dutch Grand Prix last year didn’t just earn the PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team (PSRT) a huge reward at the end of the race. When PETRONAS Sprinta debuted at Assen, PSRT’s Fabio Quartararo and his Yamaha YZR-M1 powered by the new engine oil snatched a third pole position of the season and claimed a podium around the fiercely fast course in northern Europe.
The luck has also been brought forward during the most recent Valencia GP. Adding to his latest list of accomplishments, Quartararo then went on to snatch the sixth pole position at the season-closing Valencia GP in November.
It’s been an incredible rookie season for PSRT rider Fabio Quartararo. What’s so exceptional was Fabio being awarded Rookie of the Year honours in his first season in the MotoGP World Championship and also becoming the Independent Rider Champion. He has successfully helped the team to take the Independent Team’s title in their first season in the premier class.
Fabio’s brilliant weekend around a race track renowned for its speed and technical demands was the latest achievement in what has been an impressive campaign to-date for the new team and the integration of PETRONAS’ product and engineering into the MotoGP paddock. In one of the interviews, Fabio mentioned there wasn’t any bikes that are easy to ride in MotoGP, however, Yamaha is perhaps among the bikes one of the most familiar for a rookie. This indeed helped to keep the rider working in a simple way instead of doing the wrong things during the last race.
“For a first season to be ‘Rookie of the year’ with six poles and six podiums is great, especially if you look where we came from,” Quartararo commented.
During the Assen debut, the 20-year-old French star along with Noor Afiza Mohd Yusof General Manager, Brand Management Department, Group Strategic Communications; Dr Andrea Dolfi, Head, R&D Fluid Technology Solutions, Technology Research, Group Research & Technology (GR&T) Project Delivery & Technology (PD&T), Dato Razlan Razali, Team Principal PETRONAS Sepang Racing Team and PETRONAS Yamaha SRT Team Manager, Wilco Zeelenberg also took the stage to announce the unification of PETRONAS Sprinta with PETRONAS Yamaha SRT in front of the International media after qualifying .
“PETRONAS debuted their Sprinta engine oil in the Yamaha YZR-M1 and were rewarded with pole and a podium. This is a great endorsement of their technical prowess and a well—deserved reward for the support they have given this team.” said Dato Razlan – adding that while the team is happy with the achievements they are still focused on continuously delivering their best performance for the coming races.
Wilco, who was also a former Grand Prix racer with three podium finishes in Assen said, “MotoGP engine combustion, RPM and temperatures are amazing – very high – and to develop high-performance engine oil in such a short period of time that functions so well is really impressive and we, the team are very happy with it”
Sprinta was developed using PETRONAS’ proprietary base oil produced from its refinery in Melaka, Malaysia and it was especially formulated to suit the characteristics of the Yahama YZR-M1. The team’s hard work made it possible to be completed in less than a year despite being given an initial timeline of two years, which was a huge accomplishment.
However, PETRONAS Sprinta isn’t the first PETRONAS product integrated into the Yamaha YZR-M1. Afiza explained that within a year, PETRONAS has already successfully integrated two products into the bikes – the Tutela transmission fluids and the Sprinta engine oil.
According to Dr Andrea Dolfi, the head of R&D, the PETRONAS team started with the Tutela gear oil. . He added that the gearbox is essential to the rider’s safety as if it breaks down, it could lead to a disastrous outcome to the rider . Once the Tutela’s performance reached its desired result, the team focused on delivering performance and reliability through Sprinta.
“We adapted quite fast to this bike and in Qatar is where we already felt that the Yamaha was in good shape with the team,” he evaluated. “I think the comfort we have here, with all the partners, people and support of experts like PETRONAS, is like a family and this is really important in MotoGP,” he said.
“Reliability is an important element in motorsports because there is no point in going faster and having more power if you damage the engine or do not finish the race. The key for this success, which we are starting to enjoy right now, is the collaboration between us (PETRONAS) and Yamaha,” he added.
The PETRONAS team is dedicated to continuously use MotoGP to showcase more of their technology and product in the future. However, for now, it is clear that the future is bright for the PETRONAS Yamaha SRT with Frenchman Fabio Quartararo leading the charge for the start of the 2020 season.