Crutchlow confident of strong results, Tech 3 shows colours

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team showcased its 2012 livery ahead of the new 1000cc MotoGP World Championship era at Jerez in Spain today.

The team's riders, Britain's Cal Crutchlow and Italy's Andrea Dovizioso, have both impressed in pre-season testing to date and the pair will be aiming to maintain their form in the final MotoGP test at Jerez, which gets under way on Friday.

Crutchlow said: "2012 will be my second season in the MotoGP World Championship and the second season with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team and I am really looking forward to it. The team has been working great all through the winter and Yamaha has done a fantastic with the new YZR-M1.

"Development never stops and I know Yamaha is continuing to work incredibly hard, so I am convinced I can have a much stronger season in 2012 with their support behind me.

"I learned a lot in my first season and although I still have much less experience than most of my rivals, my target is to be much closer to the front," he added. "I have already shown in testing that the 1000cc bike suits my style better and I am able set some very competitive lap times.

"The level of competition though is once again unbelievably high, but if I can be close to the factory bikes and be top independent team rider, I will be very happy."

Dovizioso - switching to Yamaha after spending his entire full-time grand prix career on Hondas - was the leading M1 rider at the end of the Sepang Tests, despite still healing from a broken collarbone sustained on a motocross bike.

"This season is a really important one for me and I am looking forward to going racing after a long winter," said Dovi. "We can see that Yamaha has done a very good job with the new YZR-M1 and I believe we will be really competitive.

"I found a very good feeling with the bike at the last test in Sepang but I still have a lot of work to do to fully understand it because it is completely new for me. But we can clearly see that the Yamaha is a bike with a lot of potential, so I'm really confident for the season.

"At the same time though we will only see our true potential after the first race in Qatar. I have a lot of motivation for this season after finishing third in the World Championship last year, but there are a lot of riders capable of fighting for the title."

Team manager, Herve Poncharal, is confident both riders will make a significant impact on the 1000cc YZR-M1 this season.

"Everybody in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team is looking forward to 2012 with a lot of excitement. I believe we have one of the strongest rider line-ups in the history of Tech3 and I am confident Andrea and Cal will deliver some fantastic results," he said.

"Cal has been outstanding throughout the winter and he is clearly riding with a lot of confidence on the 1000cc bike. We are optimistic that he will be consistently challenging inside the top five. I must congratulate Yamaha's technical staff on the fantastic job they have done with the new YZR-M1.

"Tech 3 is honoured to continue its long collaboration with Yamaha and we look forward to another successful season."