The Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team burst onto the MotoGP grid in 2019. With Valentino Rossi’s protégé Franco Morbidelli and the apparent heir to Marquez’s throne Fabio Quartararo in the saddle, the team had a bright future ahead. By mid-season 2021, Quartararo and Morbidelli both moved up to the Yamaha Factory squad, leaving Petronas SRT with the retiring Valentino Rossi and returning Andrea Dovizioso.
By the final rounds of the 2021 MotoGP season, Petronas pulled its support from the team, leaving Yamaha and team boss Razlan Razali to scramble for a new title sponsor. Italian telecommunications brand WithU quickly stepped in to help form the WithU Yamaha RNF Team. On January 24, 2022, the new team unveiled its Yamaha YZR-M1 with a special event at the Philharmonic Theater in Verona, Italy.
