Crutchlow is contesting his only MotoGP wild card of the season this weekend at Motegi, in order to evaluate a number of new elements from Yamaha and aid development ahead of 2024.
Due to the restrictions imposed by the regulation, the British rider cannot test the first prototype of the 2024 engine which was brought to its debut in the Misano test, about which Fabio Quartararo made no secret that he would have expected more.
The lack of top speed is one of the problems that Iwata’s riders complain about the most, but Crutchlow doesn’t believe that an injection of power is what the M1 needs to become competitive again.
According to him, development should instead focus on a more fluid delivery of power, which in his opinion would improve the lack of grip at the rear and consequently the top speed of the M1.
“It all depends on the engine,” Crutchlow said after finishing Friday in 16th place. “The drivers ask us for more power and we don’t need more power, but a smoother engine.”
“This is the biggest problem. Let’s say we have 300 horsepower. Let’s say that all the bikes have 300 horsepower. When exiting corners, however, you don’t use 300 horsepower, you will use 200. So the power can be increased, but if you do it you can’t get out of the curves well.”
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“It’s more a question of having a smooth engine, because ours isn’t. The riders ask for more power, but we need less. Trust me, I know what other manufacturers do when exiting corners, and our engine It’s not as smooth as theirs.”
“So, we have to go in this direction. When we go in that direction, like with the 2019 bike or the 2020 bike, you will see that both the acceleration and the speed at the end of the straights will improve, because we will come out of the corners much faster.”
“Now we only have a lot of spinning out of corners. But they asked us for a more powerful engine. I already tried this engine last year and I said it would create a problem. Now they ask for more power again and it’s not the right direction “.
“Therefore, I have to submit my case to Yamaha and luckily there is a new engineer (Luca Marmorini). He knows which direction to go in, I think. The first step was positive in that direction.”
“When you see the riders exiting the corners, the first thing that comes to you is: ‘we need more power’. But that’s not the case, because the fastest ones have more grip and much less power. Having more grip, the they can put everything on the ground.”
“If you solve the problem with the electronics, the impact of the traction control increases and you are even slower. So, you reduce the power and the bike doesn’t go anyway. It can only be solved by improving the character of the engine.”
Crutchlow then added: “Just look at the duels between Marquez and Quartararo in 2019. The Honda struggled to pass the Yamaha even on long straights like in Thailand, because Fabio came out of the corner well and it wasn’t a problem if the bike was slower than 10 km/h”.
“I think at the moment our maximum power is sufficient. Sure we can have more, but we have enough, we just don’t exit the corners well. And I can sit with the computer and test everything for you if you need it.”
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