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The Mugello round turned out to be a tricky one for Yamaha and for Fabio Quartararo. The Italian circuit didn't make any concessions to the Frenchman, who finished both the sprint and the race by barely entering the top 10. If last year the Frenchman finished on the second step of the podium behind Bagnaia, setting a time of 41'19.558, this year Fabio crossed the finish line in 41'34.724. A drop in performance which, on the one hand, highlights the impact on the standings of a flock of Ducatis so competitive in the top positions (six out of eight Ducatis, even the injured Bastianini, who has just returned, did better), but on the other, also highlights a crisis for Yamaha itself, which is struggling to keep up with the exponential growth of MotoGP (just think that Bagnaia's Ducati on the same circuit shaved off a good two seconds this year). The two riders from the Iwata manufacturer seem to be aware of this by now, but at the Sachsenring things could go differently on a circuit which, in theory, has historically often been averse to the Borgo Panigale bikes.
“To be honest the main goal for me this weekend – Fabio said - is to try to be in the top 10 from tomorrow. To at least secure a good place in qualifying, because the last qualifyings were terrible for us.
While racing at the top of your abilities, the results are struggling to arrive. Is this one of the most difficult periods of your career?
"I wouldn't say of my entire career, but in MotoGP it could be - the Frenchman replied frankly - I’m struggling to understand because we didn’t make big changes, but it has changed totally the way of riding my bike. I have difficulties with my usual riding style, especially in qualifying on the flying lap, so we're trying to understand it by taking as much as possible under the current conditions."
Your teammate, Morbidelli, for next season has hinted, with sarcasm, that he is having doubts about his future in Yamaha.
"It's not my job to judge another rider's declarations, but it made me smile. I'm sure both he and Yamaha know what they want and what they're doing. I don't get too involved in this type of discussion, it's not up to me ".
Do you think the unique nature of the Sachsenring puts even more pressure on the riders to find the result on Friday?
"Yes, the top 10 for Q2 will be my primary goal tomorrow. Ideally I'd like to be able to start from the front two rows, but it won't be an easy race."
The Sachsenring is a unique circuit of its kind.
"It's definitely a circuit that favours left-handers. I don't think there is one circuit that is worse than another, those who like racing will always find a way to have fun, the second sector is fun, but I admit that this track is not one of my first choices in the championship".
What are your expectations, can we expect a return to the podium?
“Everywhere we go now, even in terms of pace we are a little bit slower than last year, but the thing is now ten riders have stepped up the game let’s say. So, we have more riders on top with a small gap and we stay much more behind. Hopefully in a short track like this, we can be more in front and like I said from tomorrow morning we will have to give our 100% to stay in the top ten.”
It seems that Michelin will bring a new front tyre to the Misano tests, which should help to cure the pressure problems often complained about by the riders. Do you think it will make a difference?
"It's something all the riders have had to deal with. There was an improvement with the medium, but as for the hard compound, I don't think it would make a big difference."
