2024-03-25 11:12:14
Direct entry into Q2, ninth place in the sprint and seventh place in a special GP – Fabio Quatararo should be happy. But the reality is different. The factory driver identifies many small problems.
It was already clear in the training sessions: Yamaha is coping much better with the challenging Portimão track than with the test and race tracks of the past weeks and months. A clear indication of this is the direct entry of both M1 pilots. Former world champion Quartararo and Yamaha newcomer Alex Rins were cautiously optimistic both in terms of the time attacks and with regard to the race distance.
After two races in the Algarve, a somewhat distorted picture of the real situation emerges, as the result lists only provide partial information regarding the competitiveness of the only two Yamaha bikes.
During yesterday’s sprint, Fabio Quartararo showed very good pace but was only modestly rewarded for it. Despite the short distance to the winner (7.5 seconds), the Frenchman ended up in ninth place.
24 hours later, seventh place in the Grand Prix indicated an improvement. With a good 20 seconds behind Jorge Martin, the opposite was the case. Like many other drivers, Quartararo also benefited from the triple failure at the front shortly before the end.
In the debriefing, “El Diablo” was not very pleased with how the race went and confirmed: “Seventh place sounds better than it is. To be honest, I was hoping for more. A lot of things went well in the sprint yesterday and I saw myself getting closer to the guys in front of me today. That’s why I’m not very happy with the big gap.”
However, Quartararo, who has been undervalued for a long time, does not see any significant weakness. «The truth is, I think, that we don’t have one big problem, but many small problems. It’s a little bit of everything. Rear grip, electronics, aerodynamics, it’s the combination of several things. We collected good data today and further testing will help us further. Of course, it’s also a problem that we only have two bikes in the field,” said the Yamaha factory rider.
When asked regarding the topic of a possible second Yamaha team for the 2025 season, the 2021 champion blocked it. “It’s true that we talked regarding a second team. But I can’t say anything more regarding it at the moment.”
While trucks from European manufacturers have left the paddock, Yamaha will use the day following the GP for further testing. Additional testing is possible via the concessions regulation with extensive privileges. Honda, also eligible, did not join the test.
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