Last Sunday in Misano, Fabio Quartararo won his first world title in MotoGP, while Bagnaia crashed with five laps to go when he was leading a race he had dominated since the lights went out. The gap to Marc Márquez, the only one who could follow him, grew to seven tenths, and the Catalan later admitted that at that point he thought it was impossible to fight with the Ducati rider to the end.
However, Bagnaia crashed at turn 15, the same point where Jack Miller had gone to the ground 20 laps earlier, and this effectively handed the title to Fabio Quartararo.
At this point, one of the debates is whether the Yamaha is truly the most efficient prototype of all. On paper it should be, as none of the other manufacturers wanted to replace Iwata’s bike. It is also the bike with the most wins (six) in the 16 races so far. However, the fact that five of these were obtained by the same driver (Quartararo) contrasts sharply with the three drivers (Bagnaia, Jack Miller and Jorge Martín) who were able to win on a Desmosedici.
The count of podium finishes is even more heterogeneous in the case of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer, although in this parameter it should be noted that Ducati has six bikes on the grid, compared to four from Yamaha, Honda and KTM and two each from Suzuki and Aprilia.
In any case, of the 48 podiums up for grabs, 19 were won by the Bolognese manufacturer, with five different drivers: Bagnaia has the highest number (seven), ahead of Johann Zarco (four), Martin and Miller (three each), and also Enea Bastianini (two). The only rider who was unable to finish on the podium despite riding a Demosedici is Luca Marini, who nevertheless won the front row in the last race at Misano, where he started third.
Yamaha has instead signed 13 podiums, and once again there is a clear slope towards Quartararo, who has signed ten, leaving only three to be shared between Maverick Viñales (two), now an Aprilia rider, and Franco Morbidelli.
The other brands are far behind these two, as Honda, despite having achieved three wins (all with Marc Márquez) and five podiums, is the first to recognize that its RC213V needs to improve a lot in order to compete for the title with Yamaha and Ducati. The brand of the golden wing and the Reds have been at loggerheads for years because the managers of the former are not happy that those of the latter give more weight to the role of Márquez than to that of his bike, in the six world championships won by the rider from Cervera between 2013 and 2019. “Ducati has a bike that everyone says is fantastic, but the last world championship was won by Stoner a long time ago. Last year it was won by a Suzuki and this year from Yamaha, “HRC team manager Alberto Puig told Motorsport.com.
Something similar to Honda is happening to KTM (two wins and four podiums) and Suzuki (six podiums). The Austrian manufacturer is going to ups and downs depending on the track, but cannot find the stability it seemed to have achieved in 2020. And Suzuki continues to sit on the couch, interviewing the candidates for the position of team manager vacated by Davide Brivio , but without betting on anyone. Meanwhile, Joan Mir and Alex Rins are urging the Hamamatsu team to redouble their efforts to revitalize the GSX-RR, once it becomes clear that it has fallen behind. “Ducati is several steps forward,” said the Barcelona rider.
On the other hand, the only podium of Aprilia (Espargaró) shows the long way to go for the Noale house.
Another indicator that helps to get an idea of which can be considered the best bike of 2021 is the opinion of those who ride them. The Desmosedici has the highest percentage, with two rookies (Martin and Bastianini) who burst onto the scene like lightning in the premier class. Both are vying for the rookie of the year award, and with two grands still to go they are separated by just five points in favor of the “Beast”.
“Everyone says that Ducati is the best, the fastest and the most competitive, but the title has been won by Yamaha”, Bagnaia himself acknowledges. The Turinese has some doubts that prevent him from saying that his bike, which is even the most up-to-date version of the Desmosedici available can be sold as the perfect World Championship bike. However, he believes that if it isn’t, it’s close to being. “We’ve made a huge step forward this year and the bike is incredible. I think in 2022 he can be the reference, ”added the # 63, who next week in Portimao will try to secure second place in the championship, with Mir 27 points behind him with 50 points still up for grabs.
Quartararo takes a similar approach when asked to name the best prototype of 2021, although, in his case, he’s not so sure: “I don’t know if Yamaha is the best bike; if we look at what other riders are saying, then no. But that’s the one who won. ” Word of a champion.
The bike of Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Yamaha
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