This Friday in Misano it was finally time to debut in a race weekend the long-awaited Yamaha YZR powered by the V4 engine, entrusted to Augusto Fernandez. A debut not one of the easiest for the Spanish test rider, first slowed down by a technical problem in the morning and then running into a crash during the time attack in the afternoon session, which he finished with the 19th time. However, the balance of the day is positive for Augusto, who managed to finish ahead of Alex Rins and Miguel Oliveira, picking up about two tenths from Jack Miller and six from Fabio Quartararo.
"It was a positive day, in which there was a little bit of everything," the Spanish test rider recounted, "We had a problem in FP1, then I crashed in pre-qualifying, but the truth is that apart from that, it was also a day of change. We are using this weekend to test, because we know how much work we still have to do. The feelings we had in testing here had not been great, and we were planning to try some pretty big things as well. For the first time we took steps toward something better and it showed in the time attack, which was my first real time attack with this bike and it was positive, although then I made a mistake because I felt too comfortable," admitted Fernandez, who has two V4-powered M1s at his disposal here in Misano: "Yes, I have two bikes. But the problem this morning was no big deal. Just an electronic problem."
If not for the final position, Augusto can say he is satisfied with the fairly small gap picked up from Quartararo.
"Yes, and especially for the sensations that are beginning to arise," he said, "We suffered a bit in the last tests. The course had been good until the last tests here in Misano, where we encountered a couple of problems that we couldn't solve. We have a lot of things on our minds this weekend, and everything we did was improving."
Is the new Yamaha already better than the previous model or can it still have more potential in the future?
"It is not already better, but it has more potential," answered the test rider, "Why do I think so? The feeling. The two bikes are very different and the truth is that this is the first time I felt better with this one in almost everything. It's no secret that the front end of the standard bike is incredible. Fabio is the one who exploits it the best: he brakes like an animal and exploits it to the maximum without having grip. He does everything with the front. With this bike we have more grip, but we had to work a little bit on the front, which needed to be improved. The standard version is still a little bit better, but the balance is starting to be pretty even."
The Spaniard then spoke about what he believes to be the best part of the new bike: "With this bike you can brake very well, but it's good, especially the management of the rear, which is a little bit what the standard bike lacks, both in terms of grip and grip management. There has been a big improvement and it is very pleasant to ride."
Fernandez then concluded with his expectations for the weekend's races, "We know we lack top speed, because it's no secret that they are giving us engine power a little at a time. Competing in the early laps will be impossible, because even going fast you can't overtake, even less so in Misano. We will miss a little at the result level, but the important thing is that the feeling is good. We'll see if we can maintain them, or improve them."