The 2014 YZR-M1 Breaks Cover in Indonesia
Saturday 18 January: Yamaha Factory Racing stars Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi kicked off the new MotoGP season today by unveiling the 2014 Yamaha YZR-M1 live in front of nearly 4000 members of the Yamaha family at the 3S Dealer meeting in Indonesia.
The two-day visit saw both riders engage in a number
of activities for their first official outing of 2014. Yesterday Jorge met with
a number of local media before heading off to take part in a soccer game with a
team of Lorenzo fans and members of the Yamaha community.
This morning Jorge and Vale went together to meet Mr.
Joko Widodo, the current Governor of Jakarta. The threesome spent some time
cycling and chatting together before the riders moved on to join the thousands
of Yamaha dealers gathered to witness the unveiling of the 2014 YZR-M1 that
marked the start of the 3S Dealer Meeting.
Jorge and Vale wrapped up the day by recording a
local TV show and shooting a Yamaha TV commercial before heading to the airport
and saying goodbye to Indonesia once again.
Jorge Lorenzo: "It’s always nice to come into a
sunny country with happy people, especially Indonesia, a country that gets
crazy about MotoGP. Both Vale and myself have a lot of fans. Everyone
recognises us in the street and gives us a lot of love so it's a good place to
promote Yamaha.
Every year this Asian market gets more and more
important so our visits here increase. This time we decided to do the launch
here, in front of thousands of Yamaha people.
I like the new bike a lot, it's very smart and
elegant with more white. It’s not just the colour though; I’m excited to see
what’s inside the bike in Sepang!
My expectations for this season are very high. This
winter I had an operation to take out the metal plates in my shoulder so I’m a
bit lighter but I’m also a bit fatter after Christmas! I am training hard to
lose some kilos and I will try to start the season well like last year and be
straight onto the podium. This will be important to get points and gain
confidence to keep going through the season. Our rivals will be tough but I
think if we’ve improved in some areas then we have a good chance to win the
title again.
When you are fast and winning races all the big
factories want you, this is normal. I have to clarify that there is no truth in
the rumours that there is a contract with another manufacturer and I would like
to start negotiating as soon as possible for my future with Yamaha. My dream is
to retire after my career as a Yamaha rider. If our bike is even better this
year then it will be easier!”
Valentino Rossi: "It’s always great to come to
Indonesia. The Indonesians are the best fans in the world, with a lot of
passion for MotoGP and the Yamaha Factory Team, even though they have no races
in their country. Yamaha Indonesia plays a big role in Yamaha’s global business
and I truly hope that Jorge’s and my presence here gives a further boost to
their local business. This morning I had the pleasure and the honour to spend some
time with Mr. Joko Widodo, Governor of Jakarta, and I could not have expected
any better welcome to my arrival in Indonesia.
This season is very important for me and the fact
that we officially start the season here in Jakarta makes it even more special.
I can’t remember any previous unveiling by Yamaha made outside Europe, so today’s
event was special for several reasons. Yamaha deliberately decided to offer the
Indonesian dealers the chance to host the unveiling of the 2014 M1 during their
big annual meeting here in Jakarta and this is another sign of the increasing
importance of the SE Asian market for the global business. I truly hope to be
able to race here again, very soon, before it’s too late!!
We unveiled the new livery for 2014 today; it’s very
nice, very elegant and has more white than last year. It’s still very much in
the Yamaha Factory style and I like it a lot.
The expectations for the coming season are very high.
My target is to try and do better than last year, be more competitive and fight
for the podium every weekend. I am sure our bike will be very competitive
again. It was already very good last year and Yamaha engineers were able to
develop it further through the season therefore I expect a lot from my new M1
and I am sure it will get even better during the season."
Lin Jarvis - Yamaha Motor Racing, Managing Director: "I am very happy that I was able to attend the Yamaha
Motor Indonesia Dealer Convention here today with our President Mr. Yanagi,
Jorge, Vale, and Tsuji-san to give the Indonesian dealers an exclusive preview
of our new colours for the 2014 season. The Indonesian market is the biggest in
the world and MotoGP is enormously popular here so I really hope we can come
here to race in the future.
I would like to thank our hosts for making us so
welcome and for their invaluable support to our MotoGP project. We now look
forward with impatience to the first Sepang test in just over two weeks from
now to start our 2014 title campaign.”