2017 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP livery revealed

The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team may have placed second in last year’s championship, but it is the first to reveal their new livery for the 2017 season. The event was held in Madrid, Spain, the home of major sponsor Movistar. 

What has changed is the size of the Movistar M (it’s bigger), the Monster Energy M (it’s smaller) and the shade of blue that characterises the motorcycles has deepened to something that matches the shade on roadgoing Yamahas. These aren’t the actual 2017 model year motorcycles, of course, but they certainly show us how the upcoming M1 will look. 

The M1 has made strides ahead in braking, corner entry and rear grip, according to team boss Maio Meregalli. One major advantage the team has regained this season is that both Vinales and Rossi have a similar riding style, so the team can concentrate all its efforts on developing the motorcycle in a single direction. However, unofficially, Vinales has already shown that he can be faster than Rossi, so how the relationship between the two develops as the season progresses is anyone’s guess.