If there’s one weakness in Fabio Quartararo’s MotoGP title armor, it’s Yamaha’s poor wet weather form.
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This was shown again during the opening practice in Texas, when the Frenchman was the best M1 driver and only finished 15th on the time table, 2.3 seconds behind Marc Marquez (Honda) and 0.8 seconds behind title rival Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati).
But Quartararo insisted that a “big step” had been taken in training in Misano compared to his previous outing in wet weather.
“It was pretty good this morning,” said Quartararo, who starts the COTA weekend with a 48 point lead over Bagnaia. “We’ve changed the setting a lot compared to the last time we drove on a wet ride, and I really liked it.
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“Then we tried the middle rear and my feeling was much better, we took a big step.
“I think we still have room for improvement. We’ll use the next few sessions to be in the top 10, but especially I’m really excited about the change we’ve made.”
Teammate Franco Morbidelli started his second weekend as a works Yamaha rider in 17th place (+2.7 seconds).
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“The training was decent. We try to understand and find a good base even when it is wet, ”said the Italian. “We do a few laps and try out the setting to better understand what we need from the motorcycle.
“We did that and also I had to understand how the leg works and it’s good because I have no more pain, I just lack some strength, so that’s good.
“At least I didn’t feel any pain this morning on the wet, and that’s a good thing. Now let’s keep working and let’s see what happens.”
Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso’s Petronas Yamahas supported the timesheets in places 20 and 21.
The track has remained dry since FP1, but continued rain throughout the entire weekend in Austin is a threat.