This is a real boon for the reputation of the Styria region in Austria. A magical land where, at night, geniuses go to work to heal wounds and erase evils. Including mechanical. In the enchanted forest, Yamaha placed its engines there which it wanted to open to deal with a technical fault. The manufacturer could only rely on the divine since the evil sorcerer Honda refused access to the cauldron. And he was right, the proof...
The enchanted spell is also such that it has even erased all traces of spite in the mind. We must be convinced, the procrastination of the day before on a Yamaha engine on the verge of euthanasia requiring open heart surgery to save him was just a big joke Yamaha . It was hard to imagine Lin Jarvis boasting, and yet…
And yet the facts are there: on the first row of the starting grid for this Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, there are two M1s. And the two riders who did not know how to respond the day before about a major mechanical problem on their motorcycle had a well-rehearsed speech this Saturday: “ we have as much power as in Jerez and Brno, we have no problem » declared eye to eye the one who knows how to spot “fake news”.
But so much the better, because he is a Frenchman and leader of the current world championship. It will be recalled that fabio quartararo 17 points ahead of Yamaha factory rider Maverick Vinales : " I didn't feel good on Friday and the feeling of the bike was bad. Usually we are always fast on a timed lap, but even that didn't work. For FP4 we made big changes to the bike and it was better ».
A new device to tame
« We did two runs on used tires and the feeling was good. After a difficult Friday, our objective in Q2 was to land on the first two rows of the grid. We are in third place and I am very happy with it “, said the 21-year-old pilot.
However, there is still some doubt. But it is also added value for the future: Yamaha has developed for this season a device allowing you to change the center of gravity of the motorcycle while driving. Fabio Quartararo used it at the Red Bull Ring. “ It's not an easy thing. We first got it during the Qatar test, but I was only allowed to use it at the start of training. We don't yet know if it really works because it's very complicated.. This can bring small benefits, but it can also create problems. I didn't use it in Jerez or Brno, I used it for the first time here and now we have to analyze if it helps us ».
« During the race it becomes difficult to use this device, in qualifying I tried it and noticed that the bike was sinking a little. If the machine moved more and I used the device, the risk of a wheelie was much higher. We need to gain more experience ", said Quarterly Saturday afternoon.
MotoGP Red Bull Ring 1 J2: qualifying
