MotoGP has decided to help the Japanese manufacturers by reviewing the concession system from top to bottom. Under the old system, Yamaha and Honda were not entitled to any technical advantages due to their results in the last two seasons, but the new agreement, announced on Monday, is based on points obtained over a year and offers new advantages.
At least for the first half of the 2024 season, the two Japanese brands will be able to use more engines, without having to freeze development, and will be able to homologate an additional fairing. Above all, they will be able to test with the regular drivers on a variety of circuits, using a greater number of tires than other manufacturers.
For Fabio Quartararo, who has been asking for improvements to the bike for some time, the situation can only be positive. “I think it’s great news,” the Frenchman said. “Now we’ll have to work in the right direction and try to get a real idea of what we need, bringing back a lot of things to test. But, yes, I think it’s a very good thing.”
The changes come at a time when Quartararo senses Yamaha’s desire to accelerate its development by taking inspiration from the methods of Ducati, KTM and Aprilia, and hopes this will materialize with significant developments in the first half of the 2024 season.
“They have changed their mentality, we are getting closer to the Europeans, which is what we really want, to make everything faster. I think this will change. After that, I think the most important period will be from February to July. Those months will be very important to progress the bike, to bring updates quickly. It will be the key moment to also see their mentality.”
Fabio Quartararo
It will not be enough to take advantage of the concessions, which will have to be used wisely. And while Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow himself felt he wasn’t being asked to do enough, Quartararo is counting on an intensive and well-considered testing programme, which opens the door to further experimentation.
“The most important thing is that they bring new parts, because testing after a Grand Prix on the same track without trying anything special is complicated and we know that we really need to try new things and that’s a lot of work too. It’s nice have concessions, but it’s also very challenging to use them well. If we do it well, it can be very beneficial for us.”
Thanks to the concessions, Quartararo will be able to participate in the Shakedown Test, three more days before the start of pre-season testing in Sepang. Organizing sessions during the season could be difficult with a busy 2024 calendar, but ‘El Diablo’ is more concerned about the sequence of testing days in February.
“Usually, with the three days of testing we have in Malaysia, there’s always a lot of time to try everything. But I think it’s really good. We already have an idea of the layout of the circuits we’re going to go on.”
“I think pretty much all the tests have already been planned,” Quartararo said. “It is above all from a physical point of view that it will be more complicated, especially in Sepang where we will have quite a few days in a row after more than two months without a bike. That’s where it will be more complicated, but after that I don’t think it will be complicated to plan the things”.
![Alex Rins, Yamaha Factory Racing](https://cdn-6.motorsport.com/images/mgl/2jX5Klz6/s1000/alex-rins-yamaha-factory-racin.jpg)
Alex Rins
Quartararo’s new teammate, Alex Rins, sees his participation in the Shakedown Test as “an opportunity to better prepare for the start of the season”, but does not yet know what Yamaha’s program will be. “They are working on the plan,” explained the Spaniard. “I will definitely do the Shakedown Test. More days of testing means more things to evaluate, so that’s good.”
“My wife is not happy about this!”, Rins joked. “She’ll have less time at home, but I don’t think she knows I’m doing the Shakedown yet.”
Still physically tested and with only one day of testing in Valencia, Rins has not yet been able to immerse himself in very precise technical work this week and Quartararo has therefore taken on the bulk of the evaluations ahead of the 2024 season.
“It’s difficult because for Alex it’s only his first day, the conditions aren’t very good, so it’s difficult to already go in the same direction,” explained Quartararo. “I think for him it’s just feedback and that in Malaysia we will have to talk more to see where we can make progress. But I don’t think it’s the right time to talk to Alex to identify the direction to follow, after just one day of testing” .
“I worked alone,” he added. “It was very, very intense, with a lot of aerodynamics and a lot of things to try. It was interesting to try so many things, now we will have to find the right direction to get back into the right positions, because there are some positive aspects but we are still very, very far from those in front.”
A gap to fill before the start of the season
On Tuesday evening, Quartararo reiterated that Yamaha still has a lot of ground to make up. The 2021 world champion expects a lot from the two Sepang tests, where Yamaha will introduce substantial new features, on a track that lends itself better to aerodynamic testing.
“That was the main goal, but we haven’t found more turning through aerodynamics yet. It will be one of the things to see in Malaysia, because there are some corners where turning is very important. We’ll see quite a few of them. And then, in a only one day of testing, with a lot of wind, the fact that it was cold, that we started late… In Malaysia, between the shakedown and the test, I will spend ten days, so I think we will have a lot of time available.”
![Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing](https://cdn-6.motorsport.com/images/mgl/YMdmx3v2/s1000/fabio-quartararo-yamaha-factor.jpg)
Fabio Quartararo at the latest aerodynamic innovations in Valence
“Obviously I expect a lot,” Quartararo summed up. “Of course Sepang will be a very important test, but they know well that they have to work hard.”
Quartararo will not get on the Yamaha for another few weeks and will spend the winter perfecting his physical form, with a relatively short rest period: “I don’t think I have anything special planned. As far as my physical form is concerned, I I felt very comfortable on the bike. During the winter I will try to do a lot of cross, so this will be my program.”
“And then, at the end of January you already have to be in Malaysia, so it’s definitely a good break, but it’s also not a huge number of months like we had between 2022 and 2023, when it was very, very long.”
With Léna Buffa
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