After the martial speeches heard during the presentation of the troops in Indonesia, we are, to say the least, struck by this cold shower from Yamaha team manager Maio Meregalli. The new M1, with its camouflage trellis attire, is eagerly awaited on the Sepang track in Malaysia from February 10 to 12, and in particular on the engine side where we hope for more power from the now only in-line four-cylinder on the MotoGP field. There should actually be a little more. But not that much...
Mayo Meregalli has, to say the least, ruined the mood at Yamaha recognizing that we should ultimately not expect the big mechanical evening on an M1 which should approach the 2023 season with an engine in line with the versions already seen, and regretted by Fabio Quartararo, in 2021 and 2022… However, the hiring of the engine manufacturer Luca Marmorini, with his team, took place with great reinforcement of communication. An approach which weighed in the renewal of the contract of the 2021 World Champion until 2024. The one who worked on the Aprilia V4 and on the Formula 1 engines had to transform the mechanics Yamaha . A magic that apparently will not happen in 2023.
We read of the team manager on Motoracing : " the fruit of the collaboration with Marmorini will be seen in 2024. This year's engine is still the child of that of 2021 and 2022, it focuses on the next ". Seen like that, what can we expect from Yamaha this season ? “ 2023 engine spec will definitely be better » slips the same Meregalli. " The priority was to improve speed. The figures that the engineers presented to us are comforting ».
Maio Meregalli: “we also focused on aerodynamics and especially on corners, to go a little in the direction of Morbidelli"
Numbers are one thing and track is another. And that of Valencia, scene of the latest test to date, did not in any way reassure about a challenge at Yamaha . Mayo Meregalli responds about this disappointment which had also been that of Fabio Quartararo : " we had tried too many things together or in the wrong order, and what the engine should give, something else took away. Fortunately, it happened in Valencia and we were able to repair it. Because it would have been much worse at Sepang ».
But this also implies that the motor gain still assumed is so low that it can be easily annihilated. Incidentally, the team manager does not hide the fact that at Iwata, we kept the same main idea in terms of development: “ we also focused on aerodynamics and especially on turns, also to go a little in the direction of Morbidelli. He suffered much more than Quartararo on the 2022 bike ».
Clearly, the next tests of Sepang which will mark the grand return of MotoGP in this 2023 vintage will be ones to follow closely. The words of Maio Meregalli nevertheless raise fears that among Yamaha , we did not opt for European audacity which is apparently the current recipe for success in Grand Prix. Wait until 2024 to finally see the fruit of the work of Marmorini and his team seems far away. Because fabio quartararo wants to feel the effects this year while, in the meantime, the competition will not wait Yamaha . The soufflé of the great war promised by Lin Jarvis has already fallen again.
