Fabio Quartararo finished the MotoGP tests in Qatar with the 14th best time. The Monster Energy Yamaha rider continued to work with the team on improving the YZR-M1, but there is still a long way to go.
The Frenchman explained to the press that there are two main areas to improve: ‘There is a lot of work to do in various things. Rear grip is one of the main aspects, but especially turning and rear grip. I was behind [Enea] Bastianini in the Sprint simulation and I had the chance to see several things they are doing much better than us, so it’s good information for us’.
Regarding the progress made on Tuesday, Quartararo admitted that it was not considerable: ‘Progress? Today we didn’t do much, but the track conditions were better. The issue is that we couldn’t really find the limit easily… I mean, there is more in a certain moment of our bike. But I believe we have room for improvement. But we need to find these things that will give us some grip and not make the tire break so much’.
It is undeniable that Yamaha needs to make considerable progress. The 2021 champion was asked if he is pleased with the pace at which these improvements are happening, responding: ‘I think we need more time. There is the new engineer who came from the Reds [Ducati; Max Bartolini] who arrived six weeks ago. So we need more time, more tests. We need three/four more months to see the improvement of the bike, but hopefully we can feel it’.
¿Está Quartararo preparado para esperar ese tiempo antes de definir su futuro? ‘Depende, veremos. Pero creo mucho en el proyecto, creo que Yamaha está haciendo… aunque en este momento es muy complicado, creo que están haciendo lo mejor que pueden. Y no pienso en estos tres/cuatro meses de mi futuro; estoy pensando en mejorar nuestra moto’, dijo.
Este año, Yamaha cuenta con concesiones que ayudan a acelerar el desarrollo de la moto. El Diablo comentó: ‘Es mejor con las concesiones, por supuesto. Y tener a alguien que tiene la idea de cuál es la moto más rápida del paddock del año pasado, creo que él sabe y necesita más tiempo para ver dónde podemos mejorar’.
