Unlike Honda and Suzuki, Yamaha only started late in developing a specific structure for MotoGP testing in Europe.
Jonas Folger was until this week a very pale test pilot for the Iwata company, and has been since the summer of 2018. He has just learned that he will not be renewed next year.
It is clear that the German pilot, unlike Sylvain Guintoli et Stefan bradl, hasn't made many appearances in recent months.
Perhaps worse, the Yamaha Test Team was conspicuous by its absence during the last four series of private tests which took place at Aragon and Valencia where Aprilia, KTM and Ducati toured between the Motegi and Phillip Island Grands Prix, at Jerez with Ducati and Aprilia on Thursday and Friday of last week, or always on the same Andalusian circuit with Suzuki, Honda and KTM last Monday and Tuesday.
Yamaha, as in the past, is it focusing solely on the tests currently being carried out in Japan by Katsuyuki Nakasuga et Kohta Nozane ? The defection of Johann Zarco, who preferred to choose three races with the LCR team, did she play a role in Iwata's testing program?
In this interrogative environment, the remarks made by Lynn Jarvis to our colleagues on the site speedweek were of particular interest yesterday morning.
Lynn Jarvis : “Our MotoGP testing program continues as planned in Japan and Europe. Our Japanese riders are already on standby and will continue to work as YZR-M1 test riders. Regarding hiring a non-Japanese test pilot, we are currently keeping all options open. We will wait and decide at a later date which driver best suits our needs. Further details cannot be disclosed at this time. »
The Sphinx couldn't have said it better...
During the Australian Grand Prix, Massimo Meregalli had declared: « We are still planning the test team in Europe. At 85%, we also plan for at least one wildcard. »
However, faced with the questions asked, the manager of the Yamaha MotoGP team provided numerous details on GPone: “I'm really sorry about what happened to Jonas, but our plans have changed. In Sepang we met with the Japanese managers of Yamaha and, by mutual agreement, we decided to modify the characteristics of the test team. We will continue to test in Europe but we will do it differently. We will rely on our two Japanese test drivers, Kohta Nozane and Katsuyuki Nakasuga. The team will also be composed entirely of Japanese technicians, with the exception of Silvano Galbusera and, where applicable, electronic engineers from our headquarters in Italy. »
Our German colleagues also inform that Yamaha was not interested in Dominique Aegerter (which seems logical given his lack of experience in MotoGP) or even Bradley Smith which had suffered greatly with the arrival of Michelin tires.
In view of all these elements, we can think that Yamaha, pushed by Valentino Rossi to have a Test Team including a European driver faster than the Japanese, counted a lot on Johann zarco to, among other things, satisfy the Italian star and above all have a Test Team worthy of the name managed on the track by Silvano Galbusera.
The situation of the French pilot being undecided for the moment, and the interesting potential suitors really not appearing legion, it is entirely possible that Lin Jarvis still waiting to know the 2020 program Johann zarco to truly keep or not this structure today without a cutting-edge pilot.
The maintenance or not of a real European Yamaha Test Team could therefore depend indirectly on the final decision of Jorge Lorenzo, now under pressure from all sides to put an end to an untenable situation for him and for Honda.
Massimo Meregalli goes more in this direction: “As I said, we will start with this structure but I do not rule out changes during construction. I'm not closing any doors and there may be some changes to our plans during the year. This was asked of him (Zarco) but he preferred the opportunity to race with Honda hoping that Lorenzo's place would be free. We'll see what happens, and I'm not closing any doors for the time being. »
In any case, in the meantime, the other brands are racking up the miles...
