Nine-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi has this morning pulled the wraps off the 2016 Movistar Yamaha YZR-M1 he will race in this year’s championship.

Rossi and team-mate, current king Jorge Lorenzo, unveiled the bike at a ceremony at team sponsor Movistar’s base in Barcelona alongside managing director Lin Jarvis and team boss Massimo Meregalli.

“Last season we enjoyed an especially fruitful year, securing the MotoGP Triple Crown with our riders finishing first and second, Yamaha winning the Manufacturers title and with Movistar winning their first MotoGP world title with the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team,” said Jarvis.

 “It is therefore only appropriate that we officially commence the 2016 MotoGP season by presenting the new bike and team livery at the second headquarters of Telefónica, the Torre Telefónica Diagonal 00 in Barcelona. With Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi as riders, the unchanged Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team crew and the stunning new YZR-M1 bike we are confident that we will have all that we need to challenge to retain our three titles.

We know that our competitors will be out for revenge and we can never underestimate the efforts that they will apply to try to dethrone us. We also know that the new regulations and change of tyre supplier will add more variables to contend with but we are committed to the challenge and planning to give our maximum effort to win the 2016 title.

“When we return to Spain for the final GP race at Valencia GP in 10 months from  now we will complete another global journey full of stories, emotions, experiences and victories having achieved our corporate mission of “revving people’s hearts” all around the world.”