MotoGP, Quartararo Agrees with Bagnaia: “We Were a Bit Stupid”

The Yamaha rider spoke out on a much-debated topic during the MotoGP weekend in Japan: his view is similar to that of Ducati’s number 63.

The Japanese Grand Prix was not an exciting one for Fabio Quartararo, although he did manage to secure direct entry to Q2 and finish the sprint race in ninth place. Considering that he rides the Yamaha M1, these are not bad results. In the main race, however, he could do no better than 12th place, not the finish he wanted in his final Motegi GP in the colors of the Iwata manufacturer before his future move to Honda.

By now, the 2021 MotoGP world champion has become accustomed to a lack of competitiveness and knows he cannot entertain any particular illusions when facing a race weekend. Despite the team’s efforts to make significant progress, Yamaha may have to wait until 2027 for a potential breakthrough: the new technical regulations represent a major opportunity to seize.

This year, the M1 is equipped with a V4 engine, an entirely new development for the Iwata manufacturer in MotoGP. Unfortunately, it was immediately clear that it lacked power and that the riders could not be sufficiently competitive on the straights. After the Japanese Grand Prix, Quartararo highlighted another problem as well: "It was tough - reports Speedweek - because I had fuel-consumption problems from the seventh lap onward. I could have gone much faster, but unfortunately I had to be careful with the throttle. I was using 70% throttle in Turns 2 and 3, and the same applied on the straights. I did not expect to have this problem".

The Monster Energy Yamaha rider reiterated that having to modulate the throttle on a bike that already suffers from power issues is particularly complicated; careful management is needed to make it to the chequered flag: "We are lacking top-end performance and, unfortunately, we also have high fuel consumption. I can never be completely sure whether I will finish the race or not". In the closing stages of the season, it is essential to seek improvements and give the riders a chance to fight for more respectable results.

The tyre controversy erupted at Motegi after the sprint race. Several riders on the soft rear tyre complained of heavy degradation, and that tyre was subsequently banned for Sunday’s race. They all used the hard compound instead, after it had been discarded before the Warm Up and then proved to be the best option.

Pecco Bagnaia admitted that the riders had made a mistake by not testing it during practice, and Quartararo expressed a similar view: "We were a bit stupid not to have considered this tyre beforehand. I think it would also have been better for the time attack, especially for us. On Saturday, the bike was pumping on corner exit, whereas with this carcass the pumping was much less pronounced, and I think we could have used a little more power. It was strange because nobody used it, and in the end it turned out to be the best tyre, so it was a rather absurd situation". A lesson for the future, hopefully preventing similar situations from occurring again.