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Fabio Quartararo's 3rd place on the Jerez test day shouldn't come as much of a surprise. When the Frenchman rides alone on the Yamaha he is fast, but things get complicated - and not a little - when he is in the middle of the group. The M1's problem is clear, the solution much less so.
“I'm a bit happier than yesterday – he said about Monday testing - I worked mainly on new tyres, little fuel and the heat, I managed to set some good times, but I was also fast over the weekend when I was riding alone. The pace is good, but I’m missing the flying lap. This is our problem: I'm always at the limit, both when I have a new tire and when I have an old one and I can't improve my times. I hope we will find a solution."
Don't you lack motivation?
“I want to win, but right now I can't. We have some problems to solve, the main ones being performance over one lap and when we follow another bike."
The opposite of KTM.
“I was impressed by Binder in the sprint race, I've never seen a rider ride a MotoGP bike like that, and even more so someone who didn't crash. He's always had that riding style, but having a bike that allows you to do certain manoeuvres when following someone is my dream. It's what we are lacking to fight for the top positions. We have more power this season, but our aerodynamics are smaller than KTM's, otherwise we would lose too much speed. We need more horsepower to have more downforce."
Even lifting at the start has become important.
“I think we have reached our limit in that area. If we want to improve, we have to do something different, but I'm not an engineer to say what."
We saw you tried out the new dual exhaust.
“It has a totally different sound, even when you're on the bike, in the right-hand corners you feel the engine much more. Top speed should improve, but on this track it really depends on how you exit turn 5 and it's difficult to understand. I also tried a different aerodynamics, but for me it's worse than the current one. Then I had a new chassis, the sensations aren't worse than the current one, but I want to test it again at Le Mans to see how it goes".
You did a test with the new communication system with the Race Direction, what were your impressions?
“For three laps the red flag message was continuous (laughs). It went well, I think if they use this system in the right way it will be good for safety. We don't need it to be used often, just in an emergency, because it's hard when you're riding to hear a voice in the helmet. The first time was strange, but I think it can be used to warn of a red flag, or a bike left in the middle of the track, or oil on the asphalt, in short, when there is danger".
Is it better than a simple message on the dashboard?
“I never look at it, not even for the gear change lights, in a tight circuit like Jerez it's difficult to read what's written. The radio system is very small and weighs a few grams, but the speakers need to be improved because at the moment they are uncomfortable, it's only a prototype".
