Among the events at Sepang which brightened up this pre-start of MotoGP in the 2023 vintage, marked by this first of the three days devoted to Shakedown, there was this top speed announced for the new Yamaha whipped by Cal Crutchlow. A sought-after value which is also a huge issue for the Iwata factory and its MotoGP project, as for its relations with its champion Fabio Quartararo. So much so that the estimated 330 km/h is already not taken lightly…
Cal Crutchlow was not idle in a Sepang furnace which he has already told constraints that it imposed on a helmeted pilot, operating in a leather suit on a MotoGP at operating temperatures to spontaneous combustion air… But the three-time category winner is a badass, and in the Malaysian context, the expression can be heard both literally and figuratively.
The stewed Englishman had three YZR-M1 motorcycles. There were two 2023 prototypes and one Yamaha to 2022 specifications to make the right comparisons. Of course, data on the swingarm and the new aerodynamics were recorded, but it was especially on the four-cylinder in-line engine that evaluations were expected. As the Iwata firm insisted that these tests be sealed with secrecy, there will be no official ones, but the Japanese could not hide the values spontaneously delivered by the sensors on the track. Sepang.
Sepang is one of the fastest tracks on the MotoGP calendar
We know that this engine is aggressive, but also that it disappointed during the last 2022 tests in Valencia in terms of power delivery and top speed, while in Misano, two months earlier, it had seemed promising. And in Malaysia in February 2023, Crutchlow recorded a top speed of 330 km/h according to live circuit timing, not far from the fastest speed.
At the 2022 Sepang test, Yamaha's fastest top speed was 327 km/h. The first indications therefore reveal that progress has been made, even if in the race the Frenchman had reached 330,2 km/h, with aspiration or not, we do not know. A trend that can only satisfy fabio quartararo, like his teammate Franco Morbidelli. Sepang is one of the fastest tracks on the MotoGP calendar.
It now remains for the French world champion to take the helm of his new missile. In a recent interview, he said it would not take more than five rounds to understand the full extent of his employer's winter work. A verdict which will be rendered on 10 February, start of Malaysian tests for regular pilots.
