Despite making progress and working on bike development, Yamaha remains one of the less competitive manufacturers in MotoGP at present. Fabio Quartararo, currently the best rider in the championship, is only 14th and has finished in the top ten in just two main races this year.
When asked about what needs improvement on the YZR-M1, the 2021 world champion explained that bike handling has become a weak point for the bike, unlike in the past:
– Especially on the handling of the bike. The handling of the bike has been our strong point in the past, now it’s our weak point. And we have to coming back a little bit in this area. Now our engine is faster, but we are not turning, we are not stopping. There are many, many areas where we are struggling.
To improve this aspect, Quartararo admitted that it will be necessary to sacrifice performance in other areas of the bike: ‘Always when you try to look for something, you sacrifice something else. Let’s see if it is going to be big or not, but for sure we will sacrifice something to have a better handling’.