Fabio Quartararo has urged Yamaha to make significant changes to the M1 if it is to have any chance of defending its MotoGP World Championship title following Ducati’s dominant end to the 2021 season.
Yamaha clinched its first MotoGP Riders’ title since 2015 when Quartararo secured the crown with two laps to go at Misano.
Although the year ended with five wins – more than any other rider – only one of those came at Silverstone after the mid-season summer break, with Ducati winning five of the last nine races and beating Yamaha comfortably ahead of the teams’ and manufacturers’ titles.
After a difficult 2020 season, Ducati has taken a remarkable step forward with its refined Ducati GP21. It has achieved impressive results on circuits not normally associated with strength for the Italian bike, which is designed to prioritize top speed and acceleration, often at the behest of handling and turn-in.
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However, Ducati appears to strike a good balance between speed and handling, with Valencia being a prime example after posting a dominant 1-2-3 result in a venue deemed better suited to the more agile but less powerful Yamaha.
It’s a trend that has Quartararo – who could only finish fifth at Valencia – worried for the future, not least as Ducati will dominate the grid in 2022 with eight bikes in four teams.
“Everyone said this track wasn’t a Ducati track, but they went 1-2-3 in qualifying and the race,” he said. “They’ve taken a huge step, so I’m more worried about next year than this one [isn’t] something I have too much on my mind right now.
“I have to leave it to Yamaha. They know what they have to do to improve for next year. Of course we are not full of confidence because they are making a step, but we are the world champions this year. So we have to do it .” Enjoy it.”
“I always give my maximum and I think it shows. But today we have reached the limit of the motorcycle. To be honest it was hard to understand how much rotation, drive and power they have [Ducati] have.
“Because I was behind Jack and… I don’t know how much horsepower they have, but they have a lot. So in the end it’s something Yamaha needs to work on.
Fabio Quartararo improves his rhetoric on Yamaha MotoGP lagging
After Quartararo made stark comments to Yamaha after the penultimate lap at Portimao when poor qualifying exposed Yamaha’s struggles to get past Ducati, Quartararo amplified the rhetoric at Valencia, urging the manufacturer to overtake the M1 over the winter, to deliver more top speed.
“I often repeat it to Yamaha, but I think they know what they have to do. So that’s it.”
“I’m not telling anyone and Yamaha will hear from someone. I say it directly to Yamaha. In Qatar I immediately asked for the holeshot device, they were able to do it pretty quickly.
“Now we’re asking a lot of things, with the 1-2-3, which is what we really need to be competitive because at the moment we have a lot of strengths but also a lot of weaknesses.
“We have to take a step if we want to fight again – not fight again, fight a little bit looser because right now I feel very much on the limit even today when we finished fifth.
“So let’s see. I think we had a great race because I was feeling really bad and if you’re feeling really bad but you finish in the top five I think it’s a great achievement.”