The month of February and its first test of the year at Sepang, synonymous with MotoGP's big return to the 2023 vintage, are fast approaching and it will be an already crucial deadline for Yamaha and Honda. The two Japanese firms must indeed provide their respective champions, Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez, with at least the minimum subsistence level to resist the Ducati armada during the intense campaign that lies ahead. For the M1, this clearly involves a better top speed. Cal Crutchlow assures that it is acquired, but for all that, he reminds once again that it will not be a panacea. Because other problems have arisen since then…
The following should reassure fabio quartararo but much less his teammate Franco Morbidelli. The test driver Yamaha what Cal Crutchlow made a final update on the evolution of the M1 for the 2023 season in the columns of crash.net. He confirms his certainty that the latest evolution will go faster in a straight line, which the French world champion would have liked to verify at the Valencia test, which was a failure from this point of view. However, the English of 37 years insists on the fact that being faster in a straight line has led to sacrifices in other areas, and in particular on the handling of the machine. A pitfall which will apparently still be present when hostilities begin.
Cal Crutchlow comments as follows: we have a much higher top speed with the 2023 engine, but this poses new problems. The bike will be the fastest at the end of the straight and will already be more competitive because Fabio will no longer be overtaken so easily and will perhaps be able to overtake other riders ». He adds : " he needs something to fight with and I think he will be able to do it given what we have done for next year.”
Cal Crutchlow: “we need to make the Yamaha calmer"
Certainly, but all is not yet for the best in the best of all possible worlds because, at the same time, Crutchlow precise : " but we need to make the bike quieter ". And it is this general behavior that is nostalgic for Franco Morbidelli.
At the same time, the former Supersport World Champion reassures about the total mobilization of the strengths of the Iwata company to respond to the challenge launched by Ducati in MotoGP: “ the tests went well, I give the team the information on everything they put on the track. I tell them what I think and what I think is necessary. But I'm not an engineer, and it's not easy either. But I get a lot of material.” And he ends: “ the difference with my first test missions is incredible. There are 27 employees on site for testing, so they are at full capacity. And it's great, I like it and the test team works better every time ».
