Diego Gubellini: “Fabio made some mistakes because he was on the limit”

Diego Gubellini has been working in the Grand Prix paddock for 25 years. Passed by Gresini, Marc VDS, then Aprilia, the Italian evolves alongside fabio quartararo since its beginnings in MotoGP at Petronas in 2019. 

This year, the Yamaha YZR-M1 suffered to hold its own against the horde of Ducatis. Quartararo, however, never gave up.

« In fact, it's not just a question of Yamaha, however, confides Diego Gubellini. This is a problem for everyone except Ducati. Let's say that in my opinion, Ducati has done a very good job over the last three seasons and not only this one.

I think the riders from the previous two seasons were not at the level to fight for the title, and that's why no one realized that the Ducati was so strong ».

Quartararo had to play with the limit

At Ducati, six different riders appeared on the podium in 2022, compared to just one at Yamaha, but Francesco Bagnaia made the difference by taking seven victories.

« This season again, the Ducati factory team started very badly, despite a very big advantage on the technical level, recalls the Italian. Then, slowly, they began to realize that they could win races. As far as we were concerned, it was basically the same as for other manufacturers.

We paid a big difference, especially in terms of the engine, because realistically the power was not enough. On circuits with a long straight, which is the case with many circuits, we lost around three tenths per lap in the straight end alone.

That's a big, big gap. Furthermore, we have to say that aerodynamically and chassis-wise we are no longer the best. »

To try to keep his place on the throne, Quartararo had to put himself in the red.

« I think this is also the reason why Fabio made some mistakes at the end of the season, because he was really, really at the limit, underlines his chief mechanic.

In fact, Fabio made two mistakes — one at Assen, and another at Phillip Island. These two errors are mainly linked to the technical situation.

To compete with our opponents, we were always at the limit and sometimes beyond. This leads a driver to make mistakes, this is normal ».