Quartararo very disappointed, Mir hopeful
The Sprint race in Qatar ended with three different manufacturers on the podium: Ducati, KTM and Aprilia. Already last year the European manufacturers have highlighted that they are significantly more competitive than Honda and Yamaha and this is no coincidence Dorna has studied a new regulation relating to concessions to allow the two Japanese brands to recover the ground that separates them from other brands.
The opening weekend in Qatar was not promising for Yamaha and Honda. Joan Mir he openly spoke of 'Japan Cup' underlining that Honda has made some steps forward, but more are needed to “exit from the Japan Cup”. The 2020 world champion with Suzuki at the end of the race passed Quartararo and pulled ahead of El Diablo, resulting in the only result of burning the rear tire which forced him not only to give up the position again to Quartararo, but also to his French compatriot Johann Zarco who finished as the best Honda rider at the finish line. However, Mir declared himself optimistic because in 2023 Honda has never brought updates in practice during the year, while this year the prospects are different (also because otherwise the concessions would not actually be exploited).
Fabio Quartararo instead he doesn't smile at all: “The M1 doesn't have a problem, it's full of little problems – the words of the Diablo reported by Tuttosport – we need to improve the electronics, the engine, the aerodynamics, the turning, more or less everything. We are even further from the top than last year.” In fact, 17 seconds separated Fabio Quartararo from Francesco Bagnaia at the checkered flag (a year ago he was seventh, eight seconds behind Di Giannantonio).
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