The Yamaha team is going to enjoy its winter break reassured by the first tests of the off-season which took place in Valencia and Jerez. Twice two days in two weeks which showed a superbly rediscovered Maverick Viñales, flanked by the talented duo of drivers making up the Petronas satellite structure, while Valentino Rossi commented favorably on the developments although not yet materializing against the clock. But there remains a missing link in Iwata's organization. This is the famous quick test driver. The position remains to be filled, recalls Lin Jarvis.
The director of the Yamaha team in MotoGP Lynn Jarvis is still recruiting a European test driver to help develop the M1. The job description is interesting, with wildcards in Grand Prix and a structure controlled by Galbraith, former chief engineer of Valentino Rossi. This pilot was called until recently Jonas Folger, but the experiment proved so inconclusive that it was not extended.
Lynn Jarvis thought he had found the rare bird with Johann zarco which would also have been perfect for the requirements and objectives of the role. But we know the rest. The Frenchman preferred to do a risky freelance job at Honda, a gamble that seemed successful since he was promised a Ducati at Avintia for next year. However, we would like all of this to be signed at the bottom of a contract…
We know that Dominique Aegerter applied, but was not considered. We are there and in the meantime, it is two Japanese pilots who are doing the job. As he has always been at Yamaha… “ We have always worked with Japanese test pilots ", said Lynn Jarvis, who are " There are two drivers who do the basic testing, so when things are developed in Japan we try them at our own test track and sometimes at Motegi. »
The pilots are called Katsuyuki Nakasuga et Kohta Nozane. " What we lacked in the past is that fast Grand Prix driver, able to evaluate parts on a real Grand Prix circuit before handing them off to our drivers. So we created an organization last year " remember Jarvis.
« We used some of our staff and engineers, and we also hired Jonas Folger for some of this testing. We had to decide what to do for the future ". And the decision fell: “ it was difficult to compare the same information, the same feedback, the same interpretation due to working methods and procedures different " begin Jarvis. This is why Yamaha decided in 2020 to use a single test team. The Japanese team also completed the European tests. “ So there are no more European and Japanese test teams. »
« Based on our experience last year, we have decided, for internal reasons, that we will not work with Jonas next year. » But that doesn't mean there won't be a non-Japanese test pilot in the future. “ We need a fast driver, we need someone who can give us the exact feedback to close that gap between the Japanese test group and the next level. We know our testing program and we hope to have an even faster driver soon. » Valentino Rossi did suggest a Jorge Lorenzo now retired, but hey…
It will be recalled that for this shadowy but essential work, Aprilia has Bradley Smith, which KTM has Dani Pedrosa et Mika Kallio, which Ducati has Michele Pirro, which Suzuki has Silvan Guintoli and that Honda can count on Stefan Bradl. Yamaha is therefore an exception…
