The Italian Grand Prix represented an important test for Yamaha, which had carried out tests here last week before the Barcelona race. The first feedback had been positive and the first steps forward had already been seen at Montmelo, but Mugello was fundamental to confirm or deny the sensations.
Judging by the time set by Alex Rins in the afternoon session, the work done was confirmed in the right direction, because the Spaniard set a 1’45”211 which allowed him to move into second position and access direct Q2. It is the second consecutive weekend that the Catalan has reached the decisive qualifying phase on Friday and this could be a symptom of significant growth that is starting to translate into results.
A crash at San Donato in the first free practice sessions this morning wasn’t enough to stop Rins. The Spaniard set an eighth time in the morning session and a second, just two tenths behind leader Pecco Bagnaia: “It was a positive day, we managed to reset after this morning’s crash, which was the first big one after the crash of last year. But I’m happy, in the afternoon we started immediately with the new tire to do a time attack in case it rained and we placed ourselves in second position.”
Alex Rins, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The afternoon session provided further answers to Yamaha, who were looking for confirmation of the test feedback: “I used a different set-up and it didn’t go quite as we hoped, but even so the pace was good, so I’m satisfied. On the last lap I ran alone and set a very fast time and I’m happy because it seems that the sensations I had in the test were confirmed. I think the new aerodynamic package is suitable for this type of cornering. The goal is to continue to improve the bike, which is still very heavy in changes of direction.”
Therefore, the work at Yamaha is enormous and seems to be starting to bear fruit: “From the moment you see that Yamaha brings a new fairing in less than two months, you understand how hard they are working. They are working a lot on the electronics and Barcelona’s progress comes from there. The tests help a little, here at Mugello with used tires I feel good. I had an incredible ride, even if it wasn’t perfect. I spoke with the team and we calculated the time needed to get into Q2 and my time was faster than we thought.”
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Quartararo just a whisker out of Q2
On Friday at Mugello, Alex Rins took Q2 at the end, ousting Fabio Quartararo from the top 10. Ironically, one Yamaha eliminated another Yamaha and the Frenchman ended the second (decisive) session in 11th position, just 19 thousandths from Q2. El Diablo he will have to go through Q1 in tomorrow’s qualifying, but despite his position he smiles and feels at ease on the M1: “Our position does not reflect the work we did today. I feel much better on the bike, but I knew what was missing to get through to Q2 and we weren’t able to do it. It’s a little frustrating. We tried to look for a tow for this afternoon, but unfortunately we did everything alone and on this track it changes a lot.”
“In terms of pace, in the second run I was behind Martín, I was really stuck… I see that there are some positive things, but on the flying lap, this ruins our weekend a bit. We have a bit of problems with tire degradation, but honestly I think we can handle it. However, it is always easier to plan the weekend when you are in Q2 than in Q1,” underlined Quartararo, who does not hide Saturday’s objective, which is to move on to the decisive qualifying phase.
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