The Sepang Racing Team (formerly known as SIC Racing Team) was a Malaysian Grand Prix motorcycle racing team which operated until the end of 2021, and was owned by the

Sepang International Circuit The Sepang International Circuit ( ms, Litar Antarabangsa Sepang) is a motorsport race track in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located approximately south of Kuala Lumpur, and close to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It hosted the Fo ...

. First established in 2015 in the Moto3 class and expanded in 2019, it fielded teams in MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 championships. The MotoGP team was formally called Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team (Petronas Yamaha SRT), while the Moto2 and Moto3 teams were named Petronas Sprinta Racing Team (Petronas SRT). Following the 2021 season, the MotoGP team became known as

RNF MotoGP Racing RNF Racing is a Malaysian independent Grand Prix motorcycle racing team that began competing in the 2022 MotoGP World Championship, 2022 season. The team competed with Yamaha Motor Company, Yamaha motorcycles in the MotoGP class as a satellite tea ...

, with Moto2 and Moto3 being disbanded. Several aspects and team members from the Moto3 crew were recruited by Michael Laverty for his new VisionTrack Honda Moto3 team.

History

The team first raced in Moto2 in 2014, with former Grand Prix racer Johan Stigefelt launching his own outfit in the middleweight class using a

Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...

bike and with backing from Malaysian airline Air Asia. Finishing sixth in the championship with

Johann Zarco Johann Zarco (born 16 July 1990) is a French Grand Prix motorcycle racer, best known for winning the and Moto2 World Championships with his 2015 triumph being a record points total for the intermediate class. He rides for Pramac Racing. Zar ...

and

Josh Herrin Josh Herrin (born May 23, 1990), is an Americans, American professional Motorcycle Racer#Road racing, motorcycle road racer who turned pro in 2006. He currently competes in the MotoAmerica Supersport Championship for the Warhorse HSBK Racing Duca ...

, the team then morphed into the Sepang International Circuit Team for the following season. The team signed Malaysian rider

Zulfahmi Khairuddin Muhammad Zulfahmi Khairuddin (born 20 October 1991) is a Malaysian motorcycle racer. Career 125cc World Championship Born in Banting, Selangor, Malaysia, Zulfahmi made his debut in the 125cc world championship at the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix ...

for their debut season in the lightweight class, joined by Czech racer Jakub Kornfeil. Kornfeil took two podium finishes for the team and finished 12th in the championship, while Khairuddin took a best finish of fifth at the

Japanese Grand Prix The Japanese Grand Prix ( ja, 日本グランプリ, Nihon-guranpuri) is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One, Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the ...

. Kornfeil remained with the team for

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, finishing the season in eighth and taking a podium finish at the team's home race in Malaysia.

Adam Norrodin Muhamad Adam bin Mohd Norrodin (born 13 June 1998) is a Malaysian Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Career Early career Adam raced in the Asia Talent Cup in 2014 and 2015, and the 2015 FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship. He became the first rid ...

, signed to replace Khairuddin, ended the year 28th with a pair of 11th-place finishes his best results. Retaining Norrodin and replacing Kornfeil with Japanese racer

Ayumu Sasaki is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle racer, competing in Moto3 for Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max. Career Junior career In 2015 Sasaki was the Asia Talent Cup champion and also competed in the 2015 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, winning a race in ...

for 2017, the team ended the season 17th and 20th respectively. In October, they also announced a return to the Moto2 class for 2018, with Malaysian rider

Hafizh Syahrin Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (born 5 May 1994) is a Malaysian motorcycle racer, set to race in WorldSBK in 2022 With MIE Honda. In 2018, he became the first ever Southeast Asian to race in the MotoGP category. Career Early career Hafizh was born ...

joining the squad. Releasing Syahrin early from his contract to take over Jonas Folger's Tech 3 Yamaha seat in MotoGP, Khairuddin returned to the team for the start of the season. Retaining Sasaki and Norrodin for 2018, the pair finished the season in 20th and 21st, with Norrodin taking a best finish of fifth. Khairuddin was replaced on the team's Moto2 squad after five rounds by Finnish racer

Niki Tuuli Niki Rikhard Tuuli (born 26 October 1995) is a Finnish motorcycle rider. Career Between 2013 and 2015 he competed in the Superstock 600 series before moving up to the Supersport World Championship as a full-time rider in 2017. He competed as a ...

, who finished the year in 32nd with a best finish of 15th.

Expansion into MotoGP

In July 2018 it was announced that Sepang Racing Team would make the step up to the premier class for the MotoGP season, with

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

providing leased

Yamaha YZR-M1 The Yamaha YZR-M1 is an inline-four motorcycle specifically developed by Yamaha Motor Company to race in the current MotoGP series. It succeeded the YZR500 by the 2002 season and was originally developed with a engine. Since then, the YZR-M1 ...

motorcycles for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 MotoGP seasons. Signing French rookie

Fabio Quartararo Fabio Quartararo (; born 20 April 1999), nicknamed El Diablo, is a French Grand Prix motorcycle rider racing in MotoGP for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP. Having won the 2021 MotoGP World Championship, he is the first French World Champion in the ...

and Italian rider

Franco Morbidelli Franco Morbidelli (born 4 December 1994) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer in MotoGP, riding for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team. He became champion in the 2013 European Superstock 600 Championship, and the 2017 Moto2 World Champio ...

and being joined by

Petronas Petroliam Nasional Berhad (National Petroleum Limited), commonly known as Petronas, is a Malaysian oil and gas company. Established in 1974 and wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with all oil and gas reso ...

as title sponsor, the team became Petronas Yamaha SRT. The team expanded their partnership with Petronas further at the

2019 Dutch TT The 2019 Dutch TT was the eighth round of the 2019 MotoGP season. It was held at the TT Circuit Assen in Assen on 30 June 2019. Classification MotoGP * Jorge Lorenzo suffered a neck injury in a crash during practice and withdrew from the event. ...

, when the Malaysian oil company also joined the team as technical partner, with the team switching to Petronas' Sprinta engine oil. Retaining a presence in the Moto2 and Moto3 class, Malaysian rider

Khairul Idham Pawi Khairul Idham Pawi (born 20 September 1998) is a Malaysian motorcycle racer. He is the youngest non- European to win a Grand Prix, accomplishing this feat in the Argentine race of the 2016 Moto3 World Championship, aged just 17. Career Moto3 ...

joined the team on their new Triumph-powered

Kalex Kalex Engineering is a German specialty engineering company that designs, manufactures and sells high-performance parts for motorcycles. Kalex Engineering was founded in 2008 in the Bavarian city of Bobingen, Germany by Klaus Hirsekorn and Alex ...

machine. In the Moto3 class, Sasaki remained alongside new signing

John McPhee John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is an American writer. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the four ...

. McPhee gave the team their first ever Grand Prix victory at the French Grand Prix. The team also expanded into the new MotoE series, signing British racer Bradley Smith. Following Petronas withdrawing its sponsorship at the end of 2021, the MotoGP team became known as

, with Moto2 and Moto3 being disbanded. A large part of the Moto3 operation was acquired by ex-racer

Michael Laverty Michael Laverty (born 7 June 1981) is an occasional motorcycle racer from Toomebridge, Northern Ireland. After participating in the 2017 season in the British Superbike Championship aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1, and the 2018 season on a Tyco BMW, ...

for a new team named Vision Track Honda to compete in the Moto3 World Championship with two British riders.Michael Laverty: Former MotoGP rider sets up Moto3 team to help British riders
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

'', 17 September 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2022

Grand Prix motorcycle results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Notes

References

External links

* {{AirAsia Moto Racing Team Motorcycle racing teams Motorcycle racing teams established in 2014 Motorcycle racing teams disestablished in 2021 Sports teams in Malaysia 2014 establishments in Malaysia 2021 disestablishments in Malaysia