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Ninth and eleventh, a decidedly poor result when compared to that of 2021 which saw two victories in two races in Qatar for the Yamaha riders. Quartararo (9th) and Morbidelli (11th) are in no mood for smiling today and the leitmotif that resonates in the garage of the Iwata manufacturer is only one: to work. During the post-race interviews, speaking of work, both riders praised the improvements of the other teams, as if to belittle Yamaha's progress, which at this moment and after only the first race of the year appears to have been very little.
“The others did a great job over the weekend. Knowing that last year we won both races and now we finish basically behind, quite far back, of course I’m worried. We are not on the same level as our opponents - said the 2021 world champion - I will not say I’m confident. We make fourth row, going to Q1 in Qatar. But I’ll always say, I am not an engineer. My job is to give 100% and focus for every race, and I give my 100% in every condition; if I’m fighting for the victory, P3, P5, P9, I give my 100%. “
What were the main problems in the race for Quartararo?
“I made a great start, then from the second lap we had already the tyre pressure go super high. That was basically a bit strange that it was from second lap, and then the pace just dropped. I have no idea why. I pushed my maximum but then our rear tyre, front, dropped. I expected a little bit more pace but right now we couldn’t do better and that’s the problem.”
The Yamaha, as mentioned, was the worst bike on the grid today. And these results certainly can’t help the Iwata manufacturer in negotiations with Quartararo. In the talks for the new contract, is there also a focus on the technical aspect?
“My priority is to win and so for the future I want to make sure I have the best bike, for me that's the most important thing. I prefer to keep all the aspects of the contract to myself ”.
Today Bastianini won the first race in his career and with three different bikes on the podium and with Aprilia very close to the winner it promises to be a very hard-fought season. Was this balance predictable?
"I don't think this race and this season are unpredictable."
Franco Morbidelli: "We shouldn't panic"
As mentioned, Franco Morbidelli finished eleventh, 16 seconds behind the winner Bastianini. The Italian, if possible, was even more explicit in his view of the work of his opponents than his teammate Quartararo.
“The other manufacturers have worked very well in terms of speed and tyre management, we now have to continue and see what happens at Mandalika. We will have to give ourselves some time to understand. We should never panic but I would say that until the first European race we mustn’t lose our nerve”.
How did the race go?
"I was hoping for a bit better, I could have done better. I got a bad start, I lost a lot of positions in the first laps and then I went straight. Today I think I was not very incisive in the first phase of the race, then, as soon as I picked up my pace, I went fast for what our potential is, especially looking at the times of Fabio, who is the world champion ”.
Where are you from a technical point of view?
“We lacked grip and top speed. These are two problems that we know, we know that this is a particular track for us and now we will see how it goes at Mandalika. We will try to understand everything better and try to apply the right countermeasures to stop the problems, of course, it is a disaster to have achieved this result after the two victories in 2021 ".
Today, in the first race without Valentino, three Italian riders won, not bad for the start of this new era.
“I know the three winners well, we will celebrate with Vietti and Migno. I am also very happy for Bastianini, I knew him as a child and he is really a good guy and a great rider ”.
