Yamaha MotoGP sinks in Austin: a nightmare Friday full of problems

In the Lone Star State, Yamaha risks running alone at the bottom of the standings. After the illusion experienced on Saturday in Goiania with Fabio Quartararo close to the front row and 6th in the Sprint (at this point a performance to be filed under “Eucharistic miracles”), in Austin it was back to the hard, raw reality. In the practice session, the 2021 World Champion himself was 15th, ahead of Jack Miller in 16th, Toprak Razgatlioglu 18th, with Alex Rins 21st and last.

Trying where possible to see a positive side, the Yamaha YZR-M1V in practice topped 340 km/h in maximum speed, essentially in line with its rivals. However, at the Circuit of the Americas the bike is paying a price just about everywhere, especially suffering through a disastrous pre-qualifying session, with many issues acknowledged by the riders themselves.

The TV broadcast showed us a dejected Fabio Quartararo returning to the garage, darkened by how the M1 is a bit meteoropathic. Compared to the morning practice there wasn’t the same grip, and his bike reacted diametrically opposite under him. Alex Rins did a bit of test-riding: two bikes with different setups to find the right balance. Too bad that, in the frantic final minutes of Practice, neither of them managed to start, so he ended up twenty-first and last without having set a noteworthy time. Over at Pramac, Jack Miller and Toprak Razgatlioglu— the latter returning to Austin after racing experiences in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and a test-exhibition on a BMW M 1000 RR in recent months—essentially encountered the same problems, with the three-time Superbike world champion returning to the main issue: being able to brake the bike properly on corner entry.

By virtue of Grade D concessions, Yamaha will be able to work and test in the coming month of April, even with the factory riders if they wish. Moreover, by the French Grand Prix at the latest, a new V4 engine spec is expected, which should provide a partial solution to the problems encountered in recent months.