Only two Yamahas in 2023, advantage or disadvantage? 

With the passage of the RNF team to Aprilia and the departure of Suzuki, the grid of MotoGP will only have 6 Japanese motorcycles in 2023: 4 Honda (with Marc Marquez, Joan Mir, Alex Rins and Takaaki Nakagami), and 2 Yamaha with fabio quartararo and Franco Morbidelli. 

The latter two will therefore find themselves a little alone against everyone, but is this an advantage to accelerate the development of the YZR-M1? “For me, it will not be an advantage and it will not be worse than this year,” replies Diego Gubellini, Quartararo’s chief mechanic. If you look at Yamaha's results this year, only Fabio was able to fight and compete. More riders on the same bike is useful if each of them can be more or less competitive. »

This is precisely the strength of Ducati, of which 6 of its 8 representatives appeared on the podium in 2022. “You can then use the data to compare settings, riding styles, performances,” insists the Italian. But when you're always a second faster than everyone else on the same bike, it's a bit like racing alone. So for this reason it is not an advantage for us, but it is not a disadvantage either, because we are in the same situation as last year. »

A single objective for the Quartararo clan

For Diego Gubellini, who hopes, like the whole Yamaha clan, a good surprise for the Sepang test, has only one target in its sights for 2023. “The objective is simple. It’s always about fighting for the title and winning. We are a factory team and Yamaha has a long history behind it. We have one of the best drivers on the grid, so the objective is one... to fight for the title and bring it home, that's very clear. »