Next weekend, the official Yamaha Quartararo will continue his momentum at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimão. It will be all the more exciting to follow as a certain Marc Márquez will make his return to competition on his Honda after a long convalescence. It will be remembered that the route will be a discovery for the eight-time World Champion riding a MotoGP. The Spaniard only completed this circuit located in the Algarve with a training RC213V-S. But for the Yamaha rider, if this deadline is impatiently awaited, it is above all because it will provide some certainty about the general level of the M1…
Yamaha has undoubtedly grown from the first two Grands Prix of the 2021 season which took place on the same Losail track. Its two pilots are Maverick Vinales et Fabio Quartararo have in fact shared the victory in two consecutive weekends, playing with their agile M1 of the powerful Ducati reduced to accessits. A good omen for the rest of the season? Even! The M1 version Petronas have been far from the mark and it has already happened that the bike marked with the three tuning forks shows a diametrically opposed level from one Grand Prix to another.
A mystery including the winner of the Doha Grand Prix, Fabio Quartararo, looking forward to the resolution. Onto the next Portuguese Grand Prix, he says thus on his mount: “ We will see in two weeks because Portimão is one of the most difficult tracks for us. We suffered there and, in the end, apart from Franco (Morbidelli) who has 2019 specifications and who finished third, I think we finished 10th, 11th and 14th. ". It was then 2020 and apart Franco Morbidelli who then had the 2019 version of the Yamaha, and who finished in third place, the other riders from the Iwata manufacturer had to resign themselves to the places of 11th, 12th, 14th.
Quartararo: "JI can't say if it will work everywhere »
« This will be the moment when we will see the potential of our bike. For the moment, I can say that the overtaking is much better compared to last year, because I have the feeling to feel the limit: I know where the limit is! I had very good feelings here in Qatar so we'll see in the other races, but I feel good on the bike! » insists the Frenchman, provisional second in the championship MotoGP behind his compatriot Johann zarco. " At the moment the overtaking is much better than last year because I feel the limit and I know where the limit is. I felt very good when overtaking. I could brake really hard and keep the brake on the corner. But we will see in the other races. »
A caution that the experience of the previous season has forged: “ Everything in its time ! Last year I won the first two races at Jerez, the second by eight seconds or eight seconds at the time of the race, so everything in its time. We raced on the same circuit twice, so…
I have confidence with the bike, and I feel we can be fast, but I don’t want to tell you “yes” and then have it be “no” » declared the teammate
Casa Particular in Viñales during his
press conference according to Doha Grand Prix.
« For the moment, it's a moment where I believe in our bike but I can't say that it will work later. At the moment we have a very good bike " finished Quarterly who openly regrets only one thing about his Yamaha : the absence of the front “holeshot” device, i.e. the starting assistance system on the fork which also requires Maverick Casa Particular in Viñales.
