Yamaha worked on more performance over the winter, but MotoGP World Champion Fabio Quartararo is not happy with the changes to the M1 at the Sepang test
The performance of the Yamaha M1 was among the disappointments of the MotoGP pre-season test at Sepang. On the second day of testing (see test report), apart from Fabio Quartararo, no other Yamaha rider made the top 10, with Franco Morbidelli, Andrea Dovizioso and rookie Darryn Binder even missing out on the top 20, finding themselves in positions 22, 24 and 25 respectively.
The top speed measurements reveal that the intended target was missed. The Yamaha M1 still can’t keep up with the competition’s bikes on the straights. This frustrates World Champion Fabio Quartararo, who already increased the pressure on Yamaha before the winter break.
“I expected much more. It’s obvious,” commented Quartararo after the two days of testing in Sepang. “I expected more from this first test in many areas. In Mandalika we will not have many things to test. There we will only check some things that we have already tried here. I expected a lot more from Yamaha in this first test for sure. “
Yamaha only made “half” a step according to Quartararo
Quartararo is not satisfied with the engine changes. “Of course they are trying to improve this area. At least that’s what I hope. Everybody is operating at the limit. Some manufacturers are finding something more, unfortunately we are not. But I don’t think it’s an area that Yamaha is not working on. They just can’t find more,” the Yamaha factory rider frets.
Have the opposition made two steps over the winter and Yamaha only one? “Maybe only half a step and not a whole step,” Quartararo remarks disappointedly. MotoGP starts the new season in just one month. There will be no more fundamental changes to the M1 until then.
No comprehensive changes in sight until the start of the season
“I don’t think I can expect many changes. I don’t expect there to be many changes to our bike,” Quartararo is under no illusions. “I don’t expect there will be much to satisfy me in the coming month. I’ve come from a technical meeting and that’s why I can say that.”
“I’m not going to ride something in Qatar that I haven’t tried before and that I can’t be sure of,” the defending champion clarifies. “The bike from today will be the bike we use in Qatar. There will be small changes at the maximum. “
Quartararo clearly faster than his Yamaha brand colleagues
On Sunday, Quartararo was 0.182 seconds off the pace, putting him within striking distance of the competition on a fast lap. “I’m happy with myself,” summed up the Frenchman. “On one lap it’s not a problem. But in a race it is, if you look at Mugello for example. If you don’t have a half-second lead coming out of the last corner, you get overtaken.”
For this reason, Quartararo wished for more peak power. But Yamaha obviously could not fulfil this wish. Looking at his performance, Quartararo is much more satisfied: “On the first day I didn’t ride so well. I was too aggressive. Today I rode much better. The lap time was much faster, even with used tyres, with the medium and the soft tyre. I really enjoyed the day. “
“I am able to adapt quite quickly. In the end, I can adapt well to the bike. I wouldn’t say it’s problems. We don’t have any problems. It’s true, we need more power. That is obvious. We need more grip and less wheelie tendency,” explained Quartararo.
“But these are not real problems. These are areas we need to improve. But we also have some strengths. We must not forget that. We always talk about the negative aspects. The front wheel feeling of our bike is incredible,” clarifies the Yamaha rider.
