The strong signs of disappointment for the M1 2022 that Fabio Quartararo is sending to Yamaha have forced the sporting director of the Japanese house in MotoGP to try to calm the waters, stating that the renewal of the French rider is the “first priority” for the manufacturer. Iwata.
Last November, after testing the Yamaha 2022 prototype at the Jerez test, Fabio began to give the first serious warnings about the possibility of not being on the right track. “If Yamaha doesn’t go in the direction I asked for, it could affect my future with them,” he said at the time.
Two long months later, in pre-season testing in Malaysia and, this weekend, in Mandalika, the feelings of “El Diablo” did not improve and on Saturday he once again fired a torpedo at the executives of the Japanese brand. “My future is open,” he said, shaking the foundations of Yamaha.
This Sunday, at the conclusion of the test held on the new circuit on the Indonesian island of Lombok, the Frenchman’s comments did nothing to improve his perception: “It’s disappointing, we have nothing.”
The barrage of messages and accusations prompted the team to react, and Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha’s sporting director, asked to speak to the official website of the championship to clarify the position of the Iwata house: “Fabio is our first priority” , he said.
Yamaha has tried to renew Quartararo, whose contract expires at the end of 2022, since winning the championship at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on 24 October. However, the Frenchman’s response has always been the same, he wanted to see the potential of this year’s bike first.
“Fabio is our priority, we are in almost daily contact with his representatives, we follow our program and we try to find a way to reach an agreement as soon as possible”, explained Meregalli on Sunday.
The manager also hinted that a possible reason why an agreement has not yet been reached is that other producers have ‘touched’ the French, which would go against the gentleman’s agreement that producers accepted at the start of the pandemic (2020), in terms of not ‘touching’ rivals so as not to inflate the price of the drivers.
“It is normal that he has received offers, but we are confident and are doing everything we can to ensure we keep him for the next two years or more,” the executive said.
Meregalli shares Quartararo’s perception of the difficulties the Frenchman could face in trying to keep the crown.
“We are expecting a very tough season. They are really all very close. It will be very interesting for those watching the races from the couch, but a little less for those in the pits. It will be stressful,” he said.
Although the 2022 engine will be frozen until the end of the year, with no possibility of evolving it, Yamaha hopes to improve with other parts of the bike that can be modified, such as the frame, swingarm, aerodynamics, brakes and suspension, among others.
“Of course, we will try to maximize what we have as much as possible. The base of the bike is good,” says Meregalli. “We didn’t make a big revolution. As is the custom of our brand, we kept our base, we just introduced updates. And then we started getting to know the bike, so we don’t need to spend time adjusting it for each circuit. It could be an advantage in the beginning, and if we have that advantage, we will try to manage it to extend it as long as possible, “said second in command of Lin Jarvis.
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Yamaha
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