Augusto Fernandez is continuing the development work on the Yamaha that, as we all know, showed off the long-awaited V4 engine at the Misano GP. The test rider then raced in Sepang, and now he's finally in Valencia for the last round of the season.
Although there's a desire to jump the gun, Augusto also knows he has to take it one step at a time, because the path is long and full of uncertainties.
"This weekend, I'll focus on the development of the bike and, consequently, what will be the way forward for Sepang, with a view towards next year," he said. "In fact, we need to be aware of the road we're on, and I hope Valencia can give us the necessary answers we need as we go forward."
In previous rounds, we saw that you were struggling in terms of the engine.
"The engine is the same. It's going to be a problem, but we'll defend ourselves here better than in Sepang. I don't expect a competitive weekend, but a weekend where I can have a better time compared to Malaysia. Then there's going to be a new chassis to assess that, unfortunately, I didn't get to use in the Aragon test. I'll test it here in Valencia for the first time then, if the feedback is positive, the other riders will also use it."
Where are you with development?
"Obviously, we'd like to speed up development, as well as engine performance. Yamaha has done a good job, and every step we take allows us to understand more things. Now we have to think about this weekend in Valencia with the intent to work for the winter."
It seems that the Yamaha with the V4 is affected by race distance.
"The priority is certainly to be faster and more consistent. In the tests we did, the sensations were positive, and we felt good even with the tires. The chassis can be a new help, and we'll see how it'll perform over this weekend."
What can you tell us about Toprak's test in Aragon?
"Actually, I think it was a very positive test for him. I got to see his data, his style on the bike ,and he surprised me, but we all know that he's super talented. Obviously ,riding a MotoGP is quite different than a Superbike, especially because of the tires, but he's aware of that."
He apparently lapped half a second slower than Aleix on the Honda.
"The flying lap was slower, but the conditions were different. We'll see here in Valencia, a different track than in Aragon, what he can do."
Toprak is well known for his braking.
"Sure. Braking is his strongest point. He won't be able to brake like in the SBK, though, because the MotoGP is different, but he certainly has this ability to handle braking, and I'm convinced he'll be able to be strong in braking in the MotoGP, as well."
What was his first feedback?
"I didn't talk to him about the details. He was happy with the test, more than the bike, he was trying to get a good understanding of the behavior of the tires, because he was impressed, since the Michelin tires are very different than the Pirelli tires."
Is the Valencia one your last commitment?
"Yes, I'm here on Tuesday and Wednesday. Let's see if everything goes the right way. Should that be the case, I'll then return to the track in Sepang."