After a mixed 2022 season, Yamaha must react

Led by a Fabio Quartararo who is often impressive but not infallible, Yamaha will have to react in 2023 to offer the Frenchman a bike capable of playing for the title on a regular basis.

Published on 02/01/2023 à 10:15

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After a mixed 2022 season, Yamaha must react

What to expect from Yamaha in 2023? © MotoGP

After having to jostle for the entire season against the Ducati, the Yamaha clan had high expectations from the Valencia test. fabio quartararo hoped to at least find the characteristics of the new engine which appeared for the first time during the tests which followed after the Barcelona Grand Prix. But that was not the case.

The Frenchman even admitted that something was wrong. “We're going to say that there's something wrong, he said after the test. We did the tests in Misano, in Barcelona, Cal (Crutchlow, Yamaha test rider, editor's note) did tests in Motegi and Jerez, and there was clearly an improvement. Today was just like last weekend. It's incomprehensible. There must be something, because the engine developed more power than that of Barcelona and Misano and we end up with similar performances as in 2022.

On the side of his staff, the feeling was the same. “Everyone was disappointed after the Valencia test, because we had two very good tests during the season with the new engine, underlines Diego Gubellini, its chief mechanic. The hope was to reduce the gap, but in fact in Valencia we didn't close it. So if you have to base your predictions for next year only on Valencia, it is certain that we are in a more or less similar situation to this year. »

Quartararo hopes for a reaction from Yamaha

The pilots MotoGP will return to the track next month at Sepang. Since the last run in Valencia, Quartararo has been hoping for a reaction from the Iwata firm. “We are with the Japanese engineers and all the Yamaha staff studying and trying to develop the package in many areas, not just the engine, specifies Diego Gubellini. I hope that next year we will have good news (…). I am still in contact with Japan. I try to follow step by step what is happening and give as much information and feedback as possible on what we did and what Fabio commented during the tests. »

As a reminder, Luca Marmorini, former engine manager at Ferrari, was called in this year as a consultant by Yamaha to help develop the YZR-M4's inline-1. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha test rider, will have the first chance to ride the latest YZR-M1 during the shakedown which will be held from February 5 to 7 at the same Sepang circuit.

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