Quartararo impressed by the engine tested in Jerez: "I'm ready for Le Mans"

Following the Spanish Grand Prix, during which fabio quartararo Yamaha, like the other manufacturers on the grid, snatched an excellent second place MotoGP, took part in an Official Test Day at the Jerez circuit. Greeted by sunny but windy conditions, Quartararo and Álex Rins evaluated an updated engine, confirming further progress for the brand.

After dominating most of the day, the Iwata factory riders finished respectively 3rd and 4th in the combined tests (morning and afternoon sessions). The Frenchman dipped below 1:37 early on, before quickly improving to finish the first session in second place with a time of 1'36.406, set in the 17th of the 33 laps he completed.

In the second session, he first added 17 more laps to his odometer, setting a benchmark of 1:36.489. He then focused more on data collection. At the end of the test, however, he went back to chasing a time, finishing the day in 1:36.353.

Although the weather conditions were a bit unpredictable, Fabio Quartararo is quite satisfied with the results he can draw from this first Official Test of the year.

"The day was positive, even though all day, and especially in the afternoon, there was a lot of wind, regrets the 2021 world champion. This made it difficult to run well, and the data was less consistent. But I'm happy. We tested a new engine, and it seems to be positive. We'll probably use it at Le Mans, but before that, the engineers will have to analyze the data carefully."

Yamaha satisfied with its new engine

The Japanese factory will still have to address some unknowns, however, as the Jerez circuit is not the ideal track for testing the pure performance of an engine, due to its layout. However, the initial indicators are positive based on the information already gathered.

“Overall, it was a good test, and I felt good, He continues. The straight here is very short, but the most important thing was to see if we had the same level of agility with the new engine as with the standard engine. The sensations were good. We still need a little time to understand the real advantages of this engine. But there are positive points, and I think that's very good. I'm ready for Le Mans »

The Iwata factory, however, has many advantages thanks to the manufacturer's concessions, to carry out new tests on the circuits of its choice.

ALSO READ > Jerez Test: Quartararo and Yamaha make a strong impression