After the first day of MotoGP testing in Portimao, Fabio Quartararo raises the alarm. The former world champion complained that the new Yamaha M1 conveyed no feeling and lacked performance.
“We’re definitely not ready for the first race,” says Fabio Quartararo after the first day of MotoGP testing in Portugal. “I don’t want to say 100 percent that we’re not ready because maybe we’ll find a solution tomorrow. But right now I don’t feel ready.”
For most of the day, the ex-MotoGP World Champion was not in the top 10. Only towards the end did Quartararo improve to eighth place. He was eight tenths of a second behind. Yamaha worked hard on the first of two days of testing at Portimao.
On Saturday alone, Quartararo completed 90 laps and his teammate Franco Morbidelli 95. But the conclusion was still sobering. “I don’t have a good feeling for the bike,” says Quartararo. Last spring he still won the Portimao race.
Yamaha star Quartararo warns: “The problem isn’t just qualifying”
But now the Yamaha situation is completely different. “Everywhere, not just in the braking phase,” Quartararo lists the aspects that don’t fit with the M1: “Corner speed, stability, corner exit. And it’s also difficult to use the tires to use.”
“Usually in the past it was like putting a new tire and improving everywhere. But now it’s no better on the brakes, it’s no better when you hit the gas and it’s no better at maximum lean angle. Difficult too understand.”
Quartararo and Morbidelli had already noted after the tests in Malaysia that the qualifying performance of the Yamaha had deteriorated, or that a significant improvement was not possible with fresh tires. This has now been confirmed in Portimao.
“But the problem isn’t just qualifying,” notes Quartararo. “It’s also about the pace with new tyres. I’m worried for the sprint races. If we compare the data with the top and we’re all on new tyres, we’re half a second slower.”
Yamaha star Quartararo: “The biggest difference is with fresh tires”
“After 15 to 25 laps we’re only missing one or two tenths of a second. The biggest difference is with fresh tires and even more with the time attack.” When asked why there was suddenly this discrepancy in the M1, the Frenchman shrugged: “I have no idea.”
Basically, he worries that the Yamaha has even slowed down on the same circuit compared to last year. In his Portimao victory, Quartararo clocked the first 20 laps under 1:40 and managed his lead towards the end.
“Today I drove a single lap in the range of 1:39 minutes with the medium tires – and behind Marc at the limit,” Quartararo underlines his concerns. “I can’t even tell what’s wrong. Nothing’s right at the moment!”
“I said that in the pits too. We’ve ridden four days now – three at Sepang and one here. It’s mainly about the aggressiveness of the bike, how it moves. When a bike is difficult to ride and there is performance, then I don’t mind.”
Yamaha star Quartararo: “Have not found a good basis”
“But this bike is difficult to ride and has no performance. We have to find a solution! Today we only experimented with the set-up, the geometry. At the back we made the damping harder or softer.”
“We just tried to find a good basis. But we didn’t find it. We have to work more on the set-up than on new parts.” Yamaha didn’t bring many new developments to Portimao.
At Morbidelli’s on Saturday, a different fairing with new air deflectors could be seen on the left and right below the handlebars. Quartararo drove the winglet version that was used in the tests in Valencia and Sepang.
“We haven’t made any major aero changes,” says the Frenchman about his bike. “We only have the larger wing and we continued with it. Tomorrow we will try another version that has already been seen.”
This is a different side panel than the one Morbidelli rode on Saturday. Back in Sepang, Yamaha tried out a new side panel with the distinctive step invented by Aprilia.