The Frenchman is forced to brake to the limit to try not to lose ground from the leaders: “I spoke to the president, but the Japanese mentality is different from the Europeans”. The M1 has lost cornering and acceleration qualities
– Milan
At the Sachsenring, from 2022 to 2023, Fabio Quartararo fell from the altars to dust, going from victory by gap in the last edition to two thirteenth places this year, with very heavy gaps: 25″117 seconds on Sunday, 11″366 in the Sprint Race in Saturday. In the general classification, the French rider is eighth (57 points) behind Miller (79), Marini (89), Binder (96), Zarco (109), Bezzecchi (126), Martin (144), Bagnaia (160). In the first seven races of 2023, only one podium, third place at the GP of the Americas: tenth and eighth in Portugal, ninth and seventh in Argentina, nineteenth and precisely third in the USA, twelfth and tenth in Jerez, crash in the Le Mans Sprint race and seventh on Sunday, tenth and eleventh at Mugello, finally the two aforementioned thirteenth places at the German GP. Quartararo proceeds, therefore, with the step of the prawn.
disappointed
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Fabio is, together with Marc Marquez, the most disappointed and discouraged rider of this first part of the season. Exasperated, with morale down, the former MotoGP world champion no longer knows what to do. Indeed he knows it, sticking to risky choices like the “absurd” use of rubber on Sunday: on the track it now seems like a shadow of itself, a “tourist” step, not even a jolt or a proof of pride at least in qualifying. a rider who no longer tries, exasperated as he had been in recent seasons on the M1 Valentino Rossi. With the front tire always over the limit, the only way to recover the gap is to pull away after the others, but the risk is no longer worth the candle. Quartararo repeats embittered, head down: “We’ve been saying our difficulty for a long time and we’re really pushing hard with the Japanese. We know that their mentality is much slower than the Italians and the Europeans. We’re trying to find a solution to shorten the way they work a bit and make it faster. They know exactly what the problem is and don’t have to try to work on something else. We need a big change to find the grip we lack at the rear. with the front it wasn’t bad in the Sprint race, honestly, but I didn’t have acceleration”. Fabio took the opportunity of the Yamaha president’s visit to the Sachsenring: “I spoke to the Yamaha president. “I asked to see him because I want to speed up the process and get closer to the best. My mentality is to be a fighter and I want to win, motivate everyone and try to bring positive energy to take a step forward, especially technically.”
the troubles of the m1
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Gentleman on and off the track, as always, Fabio Quartararo does not expect the miraculous act from the House of the three tuning forks but a clear and unequivocal signal of recovery, of exiting the tunnel. The question, as explained several times, is not retiring the M1 and venturing into a new project, perhaps moving from the 4-cylinder in line to the V-cylinder, like all the other bikes in MotoGP today. The two types of engines have their pros and cons. The fact is that today the 2023 M1 is a shadow of itself compared to that of 2022 with which Quartararo fought to the end for the title. A motorcycle that has lost its qualities when cornering, entering and traveling, without gaining acceleration and speed or, to put it better, earning less than its rival racing cars. To understand the non-evolution of the M1, indeed, its involution, the lap times set by Quartararo in the 30 laps of the race at Sachsenring compared to those of 2022 are significant. This year, the French rider went slower than the last year (except for three out of 30 laps), the opposite of what everyone else did, starting with Martin and Bagnaia on the Ducatis. Fabio’s ordeal already began on the first lap, starting from the fourth row (1’25.108 against 1’23.134 on the first lap 2022). Second lap: 1’22.407 against 1’22.068 second lap 2022. Fifth lap: 1’22.008 against 1’21.781; sixth lap: 1’21.957 against 1’21.886; tenth lap: 1’22.163 against 1.22.006; 15th lap: 1’22.207 against 1’21.942; 20th lap: 1’23.127 against 1’22.494; 29th lap: 1’23.735 against 1’23.360. Only in three laps was Fabio faster this year than last year, albeit by very little, such as 1’23.468 on lap 30 against 1’23.999 in 2022. Here we are.
the ducati escapes
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Ducati is accentuating its superiority by dominating the championship, especially thanks to a further thrust from the engine, especially in delivery, the trump card especially on a track like the Sachsenring with the dancing bike always leaning on the same side of the tire and with the very short relationships. The opposite of what happens for Honda and above all for Yamaha, without even a flicker of revival, in Germany with a deficit in top speed and acceleration, with heavy grip problems (also accused of the new medium front tyre) which they knocked out the always excellent but too impetuous Marc Marquez and also Quartararo “out of the race” who went from the record pace with the hammer to the pace of a turtle. Neither Quartararo nor Marc Marquez are to blame for the gap on their bikes. Given the current balance of power, today it is unthinkable to recover (only) with the handle the gap between Ducati, Ktm and also Aprilia, Yamaha and Honda. Quartararo and Marquez have already given. With these MotoGP bikes, always driving beyond the limits only brings bad luck. It’s good, especially Quartararo, to have understood this and act accordingly on the track.
honda responds
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Have Yamaha and Honda raised the white flag? Everything can always happen, but the signals coming from the two Japanese giants are of a completely different nature. In these hours Honda is on the track at Misano with test rider Bradl to test important modifications to the RC213V, in particular to the front and sides (and not only) to restore stability and regain competitiveness. Even Yamaha is not idling and trying to find the lost square, at least to return to the 2022 level and start over from there. For those who are chasing, time runs out and it is not easy to catch up. Especially with these racing cars from Borgo Panigale, unattainable and successful today, not only with Pecco Bagnaia. Assen, the university of motorcycling, is already here.
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