This weekend's Spanish MotoGP at Jerez will be a 'special' event for rookie Miguel Oliveira, being the nearest thing that the Portuguese rider has to a home event.
Hafizh Syahrin's results at the start of his KTM MotoGP career make for miserable reading: Last in Qatar, second to last in Argentina, last again in Texas.
After getting within a few tenths of being top KTM in only his second MotoGP appearance, in Argentina, Tech3 rookie Miguel Oliveira is aiming to maintain momentum by taking the 'next step' at COTA this weekend.
When Miguel Oliveira was slowest of the MotoGP race riders on each of the four days of post-season testing last November, some were already predicting a troubled rookie year on the Tech3 KTM.
Herve Poncharal says his new-look Red Bull KTM Tech3 squad will push throughout the 2019 MotoGP season to close the gap to both the factory KTM riders and the rest of the grid as he anticipates a fresh start for his team.
Francesco Bagnaia may have stolen the rookie limelight with a stunning second fastest lap time at Sepang, but another MotoGP newcomer also made a big step relative to the 2018 tests.
Having celebrated sixth in the MotoGP championship, three podiums and two pole positions with Johann Zarco during its final season with Yamaha, Tech3 dropped to the tail of the timesheets during the start of its new partnership with KTM.
When Johann Zarco shot from fourth on the grid to lead after just a few corners of his very first MotoGP race, many had to pinch themselves to believe what they were seeing.
Miguel Oliveira says discovering the braking power and style in MotoGP has been the biggest lesson learnt on his opening day of winter testing with the new-look KTM Tech3 Racing squad.
Johann Zarco is optimistic of targeting an automatic Q2 place despite seeing his Friday practice momentum halted by the heavy rain and an FP2 crash in Valencia.
Johann Zarco makes no excuses when accepting his fade during the middle chunk of the MotoGP season but upon his final Monster Yamaha Tech3 bow the exciting French rider reflects on his opening chapter in the premier class with pride.
As his second season in MotoGP wraps up, Crash.net spoke to Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Johann Zarco to look over his time with the French squad and the next step of his career with Red Bull KTM.
On November 18, in Valencia, Tech3 will take part in its final MotoGP race with Yamaha machinery, ending a 20-year relationship between the French team and Japanese manufacturer.
With the shock news of Jonas Folger opting to sit out of the 2018 MotoGP season for Monster Yamaha Tech3 due to illness it leaves a huge opportunity for a rider to step-in at the satellite Yamaha squad.