KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team’s sponsor Petronas has announced that it has officially integrated the Petronas Sprinta engine oil into the team’s Yamaha YZR-M1 of Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo.
Made at the recent Dutch Grand Prix, the announcement means that the bikes have been utilising the oil since the Assen race, with the oil specifically formulated to suit the characteristics of the Yamaha bikes.
It was also an auspicious time for Petronas to the introduce the new engine oil as rookie Fabio finished third and took podium at the Dutch GP.
Noor Afiza Mohd Yusof, general manager of brand management department, group strategic communications Petronas said: “Petronas is highly motivated to leverage on MotoGP to showcase its technology, products and people. When we first embarked on the project to develop products for the team, the timeline given was two years, but in less than a year, we have already successfully assimilated two products into the bikes – Tutela and Sprinta.
"We are proud to have reached this milestone at an accelerated pace and have Fabio take pole and finish the race on the podium with Franco coming in fifth. This makes the PETRONAS Sprinta debut even more special.”
The development of Sprinta was completed earlier than expected, sourcing the company’s proprietary base oil produced in its plant in Malaysia.
The engine oil is also the second product to debut to the Petronas Yamaha SRT team, with transmission oil Tutela being the first one which debuted at the Qatar GP earlier this year.
Dr Andrea Dolfi, head of R&D fluid technology solutions, technology research, group research and technology, project delivery and technology of Petronas said: “Sprinta is specially designed to deliver performance and reliability because, in motorsports, it is pointless going faster and having more power if you damage the engine or do not finish the race. The key for this success is the close working relationship that we share with Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd."
“We are proud of our first race result using both Petronas Sprinta and Tutela. It has been highly impressive to see how quickly Petronas has responded to the unique challenges of MotoGP and been able to perform at the highest level right off the bat. To be on the podium for the first time with Sprinta feels fantastic and big compliments to everyone involved in this project. We look forward to further developments through the season,” said Wilco Zeelenberg, Petronas Yamaha SRT team manager.
After Assen, Sprinta’s ability was further emphasized at the German Grand Prix last weekend where Fabio took his fifth consecutive qualifying front row start with Franco in the third row.
The race, however, proved difficult as Fabio crashed in the opening stages of the race while Franco finished in top 10.