When we look at the state in which the Yamaha troops present themselves on the starting line of the 2022 season which will be launched this weekend in Qatar, we can only hope for the brand that Fabio Quartararo is in great shape. The French World Champion is in fact the only one on whom the tuning fork coat of arms can count, as was already the case last year. As the M1 will apparently not give more than what it has already shown, the Iwata manufacturer can only count on its drivers. Given the state of affairs, we understand why contacts with Raul Fernandez have not been broken. But there is also a big wait for Franco Morbidelli's box, whose latest events have made us forget that he is a 2020 vintage world vice-champion. A status that Maio Meregalli of the official team recalls as if to better mobilize the Italian-Brazilian on his next deadlines…
The patience of Yamaha with regard to Franco Morbidelli has it come to an end? We don't know, but Mayo Meregalli, senior executive of the official Yamaha team, wanted to talk about the teammate of fabio quartararo in these terms : " what I expect from Franco is a sort of revenge after last season, because he had too many things go wrong “, he said on Motorsport. " He started off pretty well, then he got injured, he decided to have surgery, and then he joined the factory team. He probably wanted to get back on the bike too early in order for the recovery to be shorter, but it was probably even worse ».
« He used the last few races to get used to the new team, the new factory bike. But I'm really curious to see Franco in good shape, riding motorbikes he used to do before he got injured. He used to ride motorcycles, we know it fits our M1 very well »concludes the Italian manager.
It will indeed be recalled that the three-time race winner and 2020 runner-up endured a complicated campaign last year, during which he scored only one podium while struggling in the first half of the season. on his Yamaha two-year-old in Petronas SRT colors. Forced to undergo knee surgery, he left the Dutch TT scene from June until the San Marino Grand Prix in September, when he was promoted to the factory team Yamaha with a contract running until 2023, to replace Maverick Vinales asked to leave the box by Iwata's mark.
Franco Morbidelli is still linked to the 2019 Yamaha
Franco Morbidelli can it respond favorably to these expectations? He showed solid form during pre-season testing in February on the 1 M2022, finishing the Indonesian tests fifth overall. However, he admits his style is still “linked” to the 2019 version he previously rode: “ I still need to improve the sensations with the bike ", said Morbidely when Autosport asked him what else he needed from the new package Yamaha .
« We started our work with Patrick Primmer, my team leader, in Sepang, we started to build a base and finally we got a good base in Indonesia. We managed to improve during the three days, and we managed to look for performance and see something interesting. So I still need more feeling on the bike, more knowledge on the bike. It handles differently than the 2019 version, I still feel like I'm more connected to the '19 than the '22. So I need to blend in a little better with this last one ". The 2022 MotoGP season begins this weekend at Qatar...
