Yamaha/Petronas partnership ends after three years

Petronas, an oil and gas corporation owned by the Malaysian government, joined forces with Yamaha at the start of the 2009 season, although FIAT remained the title sponsor.

It met with success immediately, as Valentino Rossi claimed his seventh and to date last MotoGP crown, while Jorge Lorenzo helped secure Yamaha the teams' crown. A year later Yamaha again triumphed in the teams' fight, with Lorenzo this time taking the riders' championship.

After FIAT's departure at the end of 2010 Petronas became the most prominent sponsor on the Yamaha Factory Racing team's bikes.

Yamaha Motor Racing's managing director Lin Jarvis said the partnership had reached its natural conclusion as he praised its past success.

"The relationship between Yamaha and PETRONAS has been a great success," Jarvis said. "We have enjoyed some major achievements together in the MotoGP class.

"Now that the partnership has reached its natural conclusion I would like to thank our friends at PETRONAS for the support during their time with us and wish them well for the future."

Petronas' corporate affairs general manager Mohammad Medan Abdullah said: "We are happy to have had this opportunity to work with the Yamaha Factory Racing team over the past three years.

"In that time, we have enjoyed the benefits of strong brand exposure through the privilege of being associated with a team that shares our values and passion. The team has achieved many successes through a high level of competitiveness and stretched performance standards and we wish the team continued success in the future".