The Japanese Grand Prix is of course of particular importance for all Japanese manufacturers.
With the falls in the race of Valentino Rossi et Jorge Lorenzo, the 2016 edition ended badly for the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team but, at least, the M1s were able to demonstrate their competitiveness, the Doctor having obtained pole position on the starting grid, two places ahead of his Mallorcan teammate.
This year, things were more difficult since, apart from in FP3 where Valentino Rossi set the second time, Iwata's machines constantly suffered from a lack of rear grip. This problem of adaptation to Michelin tires seems to have been recurring since the start of the season and, although it has been partially resolved in the dry, it is still very present in the rain which heavily drenched the Motegi circuit throughout the weekend. .
As a result, the two official drivers could only qualify in 12th and 14th position.
During the race, Valentino Rossi fell on the sixth lap while Maverick Vinales arrived in ninth position, with the feeling of having gotten the most out of his mount.
An overall result which will obviously not satisfy those responsible for Iwata, unaccustomed to seeing their machines competing so far from the top positions.
With three Grands Prix remaining at the end of the season, it seems late to provide a real technical response, especially since, according to the drivers, the origin of the problem does not yet seem to be really understood.
As such, let's hope that the motorcycle entered for Katsuyuki Nakasuga, who finished in an honest 12th position, was able to make things progress, because the first tests of the 2018 season will already take place in less than a month on the Valencia circuit...
Massimo Meregalli : “When we arrived in Japan, we didn't expect this weekend to be as difficult as it was. We really worked hard to try to find a solution. We spared no effort for this, but were unable to do so. We never found the rear grip that the drivers were looking for throughout all the sessions, just like during the race itself. But Maverick and Valentino tried to do their best. We know there's a lot of work ahead of us, and I think we'll use the next round to explore different solutions for the future. »
Maverick Vinales : “I expected things to be slightly worse, as I was striving to be in the top 15 this morning. Finally, during the race, I attacked a lot at the start. I tried to only take the necessary risks, trying to do my best. That's been the maximum for today and now we have to think about Australia. Until all the points are distributed, it is impossible to know if there is still a chance to win the championship. Certainly, we will face different circumstances in Australia. It will be a different bike and different tires, we don't know what we'll get there, but it's a track that I really like. I love riding there so I can't wait to get back on the bike again. »
Valentino Rossi : “Today ended a very difficult weekend. I wasn't very competitive because of the rain conditions, and I struggled a lot with the rain settings on the bike. In the race, I tried to follow Aleix Espargaro and stay close to him, but unfortunately I fell. We will now try to have some good races, and it will be important to give Yamaha as much information as possible over the next few weekends to improve the bike and decide what direction to take for next year's bike. »
#JapaneseGP MotoGP Ranking:
| 1 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 47'14.236 | |
| 2 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 0.249 | |
| 3 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 10.557 | |
| 4 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 18.845 | |
| 5 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 22.982 | |
| 6 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 24.464 | |
| 7 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 28.01 | |
| 8 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | 29.475 | |
| 9 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 36.575 | |
| 10 | 76 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | 48.506 | |
| 11 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | 56.357 | |
| 12 | 21 | Katsuyuki NAKASUGA | Yamaha | + 1'00.181 | |
| 13 | 22 | Sam LOWES | Aprilia | + 1'00.980 | |
| 14 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | + 1'03.118 | |
| 15 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Honda | + 1'03.514 | |
| 16 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | + 1'04.162 | |
| 17 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | + 1'06.271 | |
| 18 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | Honda | + 1'13.250 | |
| Not Classified | |||||
| 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 3 lapses | ||
| 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 4 lapses | ||
| 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 5 lapses | ||
| 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 10 lapses | ||
| 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 19 lapses | ||
| 31 | Kohta NOZANE | Yamaha | 21 lapses | ||
