For those who wonder what a MotoGP rider trains with on the circuit, as well as for those who want to improve their personal machine for days of riding, here is one of the best motorcycles in the world for this exercise: the Yamaha R1 specially prepared by Laurent Fellon for our double World Champion.
As explained Johann zarco, “The goal of this R1 is to have, let’s say, our training toy for MotoGP, as the R6 was for Moto2. The choice of the R6 was good, with power very close to the racing bike. The chassis was different but we used the same tires for training. It allowed us to have good sensations and to work on the driver. The objective is the same with the R1, but the difference is much greater in terms of power. The R1 is a great bike, which allows you to train well in terms of acceleration and speed. Of course it accelerates less than MotoGP, but you have to be very attentive to master the wheelie or the speed, because you quickly reach 250 or 300. We will say that it is the best way to keep your head at very high speed.
“The use of Michelin tires is interesting, because they have a very different character from Dunlop. We can't use the same tires as in Grand Prix and that's what limits the bike a little. But the people at Michelin explain that they can't market Grand Prix tires because it would be impossible for people to buy them. Dunlop uses the Grands Prix to develop its commercial tires. This is to their advantage. This is why the people at Michelin want to upgrade their commercial tires to offer more performance during days of driving. It limits the bike a little at times, but it's still an interesting workout for speed.
The Michelins you have are those that national drivers can buy for their championships, the production tires ?
“Yes, these are the production slicks. MotoGP tires are constantly evolving. With Laurent, we wanted to build Michelins because the spirit remains the same, for example in terms of construction. The character is similar. As for the bike, we added a Moto2 fork to brake harder and have better corner entry on slicks. This is preferable to a modified stock fork. The overall performance of the bike is good when we compare the times with those of other 1000s from different championships. So it's satisfying, even if we can't be as close to the racing bike as we were with the R6. Moto2 is closer to the series than MotoGP is. »
Laurent Fellon took charge of improving the original R1. Advisor to Johann, he has also been a technician for a long time. “ For the engine, we just fitted a larger water radiator, as well as a larger oil radiator. We added an exhaust line. There is also a YEC housing and a beam YEC. The engine metrology was carried out at Robby Moto Engineering, in Casalmaggiore, where he was benched. The power is 200 horsepower. We made good suspensions, with a Moto2 fork – adapted to the R1 which is heavier – and a shock absorber Ohlins. Braking is entrusted to two large Brembo calipers »
