Yamaha continues to work on developing its MotoGP bike and addressing the sporting crisis it is currently facing. With development concessions, the manufacturer has the opportunity to accelerate this process, but having a strong test team is crucial, as other manufacturers have demonstrated.
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha’s main test rider, is currently recovering from a complex injury sustained over two months ago. He has already had to miss two wildcard entries due to his physical condition.
Ricard Jové commented on the situation in the Dura la Vita podcast, stating that Yamaha needs to improve its test team, especially given the progress made by rivals in this area:
– I think Yamaha also needs to think about its test team. They are updating it, improving it, looking for solutions – KTM has Pol [Espargaró], it has [Dani] Pedrosa, and now Honda will have Aleix [Espargaró] moving from Aprilia. Everyone is searching. I believe Yamaha needs to ‘search’ for a parallel development plan that is a bit better than its competition team. Because Crutchlow misses a lot due to one reason or another, and in the past, they also didn’t do a great job because they almost never tested with Jorge Lorenzo. I would say, with all due respect, that they are lacking in this regard.