Lin Jarvis is the general manager of a factory Yamaha team that seems to have embraced the adage that appearances are deceiving. Indeed, the Iwata firm is recognized for having been the disappointment of the 2020 season, which it accepts, and yet, its M1s won outright half of the races on the calendar. But in scattered order, salvation finally coming from a satellite machine dating from last year. And then, there was still a sanction which took away points in the championship. In 2021, we expect more consistency and clarity from a firm like Yamaha. During the presentation, Lin Jarvis gave his feelings. Did he reassure?
It is a subject which has been systematically addressed by the new duo of pilots with whom Lynn Jarvis will work in MotoGP. So much Casa Particular in Viñales which Quarterly have in fact insisted on their desire to make a strong contribution to the development of the M1, the Spaniard, who is now the eldest in the box and with five years of experience within the brand, even calling to a profound reorganization on a model Suzuki where the key word is cohesion.
If there is not quite a crisis, this outpouring of good intentions at least shows that there are doubts. And he who is in office to lift them is Lynn Jarvis. The Briton worked on this delicate exercise during the presentation of his troops, and in particular on the subject of the engine. He thus declared: “We were plagued by technical problems last year which arose during the first race of the season. It was a problem we had to face.” A concern that turned out to be focused on the valves, with corrective action earning a sanction to Yamaha , in view of the regulations. Jarvis precise : « the engine valves for this season are the “good” ones. We start the season with valves that we know have no technical defects.”
That’s already it… But Jarvis wants to turn the situation around by persuading that this episode was ultimately a blessing in disguise..." In the process of dealing with the problem last year, we also learned a lot about engine tuning and reliability. Last year you saw that some of our riders covered an incredible number of miles on a motor, because they had to. Personally, and I hope this will be confirmed, I have no concerns about the reliability of our engines ».
Lin Jarvis warns that when it comes to performance and pure power nothing will change
We note, however, that all doubts have not been resolved... On the other hand, on the performance side, there is certainty. Alas, one could say: “ When it comes to performance and pure power, we know we have a deficit compared to our opponents. It will stay like this ". This is not good news, but the same Jarvis is a master in the art of semantics: “ one of the advantages of this fixed development is that the situation remains unchanged. Because if you can grow, you can get more power. But maybe our opponents will improve even more. In this situation, however, performance is fairly predictable ».
Lynn Jarvis therefore knows what awaits him, and it is always that. Competition will not be able to escape any further in this area of development, but the man of Yamaha also indirectly recognizes that even with free rein in terms of development, its brand would not have had the capacity to catch up and erase its weaknesses. Seen like that, the famous gel mentioned is less reassuring for the tuning fork coat of arms.
Less than Jarvis also wants to point out that the engine is only one aspect of the bike: “ we won seven races last year without the engine power of our opponents, so I think we can do it again ". This is why, as pointed out Meregalli, Yamaha has again leaned that the M1 of Morbidely to derive a new axis of progression, based on the chassis, aerodynamics, and weight. The only parameters where manufacturers still have the right to intervene to find performance... Lin Jarvis ends all the same with this evaluation: “I think the factory bike will be more consistent and more efficient this year”. We breathe...
