The man to beat is always and only him, Fabio Quartararo. After the great showdown at the Catalonian Grand Prix, the reigning world champion climbed to the top of the timesheet also on today’s official test day in Barcelona. The Yamaha rider signed a 1’39 ”447, the best reference of the day set in the morning before the lunch break.
What the M1 lacks is now well known and the Nice rider also feels repetitive in saying that engine power is the weak point of his bike. In this sense, Yamaha had brought a new fairing which is part of an aerodynamic package to increase top speed. Already tested at Mugello, this novelty did not arouse great enthusiasm inside the box of number 20 and today the final decision has arrived.
Hull discarded. This is what emerged from today’s tests, in which not much else was tested at the Yamaha House: “I didn’t have anything very important to try, we had the swingarm that I had already used in Jerez and I made some great comparisons with two sets. of tires and it took enough time to finish the job. Then we tried a new mapping to try to find a little more power, some new tires for Michelin, a setting. Here is everything we have tried today ”.
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Quartararo then explains the reason why the new fairing was discarded: “I will not use it anymore, I will continue with the standard. On the side of our garage, we will no longer use the aerodynamic package that was brought to Mugello. The feeling changes a lot, even if from the outside it looks like a very small change, from the bike you can feel a lot of the difference and it makes me feel strange. From Sunday in Mugello I decided to go back to the standard one, in the end it’s better. The goal of the new fairing was to increase top speed on the straight, but in the end we only gained one kilometer per hour and lost a lot in the corners. This is why I decided to go back ”.
“In 2019, 2020 and 2021 we always used the same hull, when they could have made three evolutions. We needed to try something different, even if it didn’t work, it wouldn’t be a problem. They made two new hulls in a year because I asked to have one with 4 wings and the difference was a lot, for me there was a great improvement ”.
The news of the weekend, in addition to the two-year renewal, is that Yamaha has hired Luca Marmorini, who has worked extensively in Formula 1 with Ferrari and Toyota. The arrival of the engineer from Arezzo was one of the key factors that convinced Quartararo to stay in Iwata: “I have always pushed, and even more now, to have more power. I’m sure they are working hard on the new engine for 2023. I always say the same thing, but because the truth is: if you do everything perfectly you can win, it’s not a power issue or anything else. But when you’re in tough situations, power changes your race. I remember Bagnaia in the first race in Portimao last year. He was 11th in qualifying and finished second, he was very fast. But when something similar happened to me in the second race, I was 6th or 7th, but I couldn’t overcome, even if on that occasion I had the pace to fight for the victory with Pecco. This is why I think power is the most important thing and I don’t think about anything else ”.
#MotoGP #Quartararo #definitively #discarded #hull