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The Texas GP was not a particularly favorable one for Yamaha. Although they both made it to the finish line, Fabio Quartararo did not make it beyond 12th place, while Alex Rins had to settle for a miserable 18th place.
"On the first lap I went straight in Turn 12 and lost several positions, but honestly I thought worse because my pace was not good. However, the tire degradation was not bad and I could have defended myself better to keep the position. Over the weekend we tried so many things and I even did the race with a "brand new" bike. Let's say it was good for gaining experience," was the Frenchman's analysis.
"The direction of development is dictated. We know what we need and we have been lacking in the same areas for three GPs. This weekend, however, as I said, was about experimentation. There are specific elements to improve and indeed some progress has been made, but the focus now is to advance the M1 as a whole. The tests in the coming days in Jerez and Mugello will also be crucial to accumulate data. April will be very challenging for us. Although I'm a winner, personally right now I'm not thinking about getting to the front, but about improving the bike. Am I satisfied with what we verified on the track? In my opinion, quantity doesn't matter, quality is more important, and the feedback we got from the aerodynamics that should be introduced in the upcoming events makes one optimistic, since from 2019 until last January there had never been any real updates in that respect. So we're in an apprenticeship phase, plus in the space of a few months you can't expect to revolutionize a motorcycle or the mindset, in any case I'm sure that one piece at a time there will be progress."
Less confident was his teammate Alex Rins. "I got a good start and in the opening lap I made up eight positions ," he said before explaining his anonymous race. "In the warm-up we had tested a totally different bike to see if that was the way to go. However with only 10 minutes to go and four laps I didn't feel much difference, maybe only an improvement in brake release and slow corners. Given that, we decided to keep that setup, but it turned out to be a mistake, because if the M1 is already heavy in direction changes, it felt even worse in this configuration. This led me to lose time in the race, not to mention the mistake made in Turn 15. There are some bumps there. I must have caught one by putting a little too much pressure on the front brake and lost the front."
Unlike the 2021 MotoGP champion, for the Spaniard, the Japanese manufacturer is still wandering around in the fog. "We are collecting data and putting in the kilometers. In the next few days Cal Crutchlow will do an important test in Barcelona and that should help, but we are still a long way off . However, I believe in the project, so even though there will be more suffering, I am sure we will recover. Friday was frustrating, then when I realized it would be tough I accepted it," he confided.
Asked if he, too, will participate in any test sessions, the former Suzuki and Honda man finally replied, "We were supposed to be at Montmelo, but for logistical issues of bike transport it won't be possible."
