“After three years with the same aerodynamics, it was time for something new.” Fabio Quartararo was satisfied and in the afternoon the Yamaha got new wings. Their shape is very similar to the previous ones, but the two spoilers are now larger and protrude beyond the edge of the windshield.
However, the world champion has no opinion just yet. “They are neither better nor worse,” he explained. “SEpang is not the best track to test out this new aerodynamics as it degrades top speed somewhat but reduces the tendency to rear. We should try it at a track like Jerez to get more answers. I don’t know if Mandalika is suitable.” Franco Morbidelli is instead more optimistic about the benefits. “I like her,” he stated. “They improve acceleration and do not worsen top speed. That’s what I wanted and Yamaha did a good job.“
Both riders were able to work on the M1 2022 today and get a feel for the bike they will be using next year. One of the goals was to find more power.
“We now have the same horsepower as the Ducati,” he said jokingly. “Honestly, it’s hard to say,” he continued. “I didn’t have a good feeling on the bike today. I couldn’t ride well, not even in the time attack. To me the engine looks very similar to last year’s. We’re going to try something new for the electronics tomorrow, but I don’t think we’ll make much progress.”
Fabio finished the day sixth fastest, just over 3 tenths from the best but he is not happy with his performance.
“I couldn’t ride in my own style for the first time,” he explained. “I ran a medium rear tire that got twenty-six laps. I installed the soft and it improved a bit, but I couldn’t use my power, my cornering speed. You have to say that on this circuit you have to push yourself to the limit in some places to go really fast, and it wasn’t the right day for that. I’m happy with my pace. I lapped in two minutes on a tire that had twenty laps but I struggled on the flying lap.”
Morbidelli also had the same problemsbut the most important thing for him was to check his physical condition and at the end of the day he could “breathe with relief,” he said.I was dealing with a complicated injury that I underestimated. I didn’t expect it to take so long to recover. I had to relearn certain movements. But I immediately felt better today than last year. My leg is still not doing like the other one, but it’s going to be good for Qatar.“
After the physical examination, he evaluated the technical aspect.
“I generally think the M1 has improved‘ Franco said. “This was a complicated and interesting day because I had good pace, but I struggled on the flying lap.”
A 21st place overall proves that, but there could be an explanation.
“This is just day one and I’ve started with the setup I used last year when I was riding weird because of my leg,” he explained. “I was struggling this afternoon so I went back to a more normal setup and used that as a basis to work on that. I want to try to be faster tomorrow with the new tires and work on the set-up. “