New MotoGP World Champion Fabio Quartararo echoed the concerns of former title winner Joan Mir at the fearsome pace shown by the Ducatis in the final laps of 2021.
Quartararo finished the last three laps without a podium, his near-perfect run from the front row beginning to dry up to fully expose Yamaha’s overtaking weakness.
“To be honest, we did poorly in qualifying and couldn’t overtake,” said Quartararo after starting eighth on the tire tracks of Mir’s Suzuki and finishing fifth.
But it was Ducati’s “massive step” that won four of the last six races (Honda’s Marc Marquez the other two) and filled the podium at a track in Valencia that obviously wasn’t suited to the Desmosedici, who ” more ‘leaves worried’ for the next season.
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“Everyone said this track wasn’t a Ducati track, but they went 1-2-3 in qualifying and the race,” said Quartararo. “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 don’t have full confidence because they are making a step, but we are the world champions this year. So we have to to do.” Enjoy it.”
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Quartararo has long made it clear that Yamaha needs to make real top speed gains for 2022.
“I always give my maximum and I think it shows. But today we reached the limit of the bike,” he explained. “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.
“I often repeat it to Yamaha, but I think they know what they have to do. So that’s it.”
When asked if the message to Yamaha is clear enough, Quartararo was adamant:
“I’m not telling anyone and Yamaha will hear from someone. I’ll tell Yamaha directly,” he said. “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 today because I felt really bad and if you feel really bad but you finish in the top five I think it’s a great achievement.”
Valentino Rossi was the second best Yamaha rider in tenth place and eight seconds behind Quartararo, whose factory teammate Franco Morbidelli was eleventh as Ducati snatched the teams’ title to extend the constructors’ crown.
Quartararo and Morbidelli will continue Yamaha’s preparations for the 2022 season at this week’s Jerez Test.