Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales will fight aboard these new Yamaha YZR M1s. Meet the new Yamaha MotoGP Team
The new Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team was officialy presented in Madrid, where Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales unveiled their new YZR M1s prototypes.
Despite losing one of the riders last year, the agreement with Maverick Vinales seems to be the right choice for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team. The Spaniard proven his abilities in the winter testing coming very close to Lorenzo’s records. He stated on the team's Instagram account that he is "incredibly motivated to show the Yamaha fans what he can do”.
Read More: 2017 Yamaha YZR-M1 Tech Specs, 39 Photos and Presentation Video
Meanwhile, The Doctor – already a veteran in the Movistar Yamaha team – is ready for a new season: “My winter break was great, but getting to ride my YZR-M1 again is even better!”. Hopefully, this year he will manage to win his tenth MotoGP championship.
Looking from the outside, the 2017 YZR M1 is similar (no winglets, though) but on the inside is different, according to the Yamaha officials, but none of them talked about the changes. Regarding the winglets absence, the Yamaha officials said that aerodynamics is not a problem for the 2017 YZR M1 prototype.
The new and improved M1 is equipped with the same 1000 cc inline four-cylinder engine with cross plane crankshaft. It weights only 157 kg and produces over 240 horsepower (176 kw). With winter testing still going the YZR M1 2017 is not in the final shape the development is on the way.