Fabio Quartararo a little and Marc Marquez apparently a lot will not leave to enjoy their winter break with a good feeling given what their respective employers offered them during this Valencia test. This one was the first preparing for the 2023 season and, listening to the comments of the World Champion stripped of his crown as the one who would like to resume his series of titles stopped at eight, the omens are not favorable...
Let's start with Yamaha where there was work to be done. Mayo Meregalli had thus defined the plan of this important day in Valencia : " we have a fairly substantial work plan, perhaps we won't be able to try everything: new engine, new frame, new aero package, we will do our best to try everything, but it's not going to be easy, we are optimistic to have good feedback from the pilots ».
This Tuesday is over and here is what was said about it Fabio Quartararo : " we expected better. We did two runs this morning with the new frame and I didn't see any improvement and in the end we worked on the aerodynamics with the standard frame ". The Frenchman was 9th, his teammate Franco Morbidelli was 14th. In 2023, there will only be two Yamaha M1s left on the grid MotoGP. Fabio adds: “ we tested the aluminum frame then we worked on the aerodynamics and the new engine. I expected better, we didn't see results on the engine I expected better given the tests in Misano and Barcelona. The sensations were the same as in the race. We did two runs this morning with the frame but I didn't see any improvement and we focused on the standard to work on the aerodynamics. The new framework didn't impress me.«
Marc Marquez is no longer considering the title in 2023
Not already foreseeing a possible conquest of the 2023 crown was the main idea of a Marc Marquez quite annoyed on Sky: “ I hoped for better, we tried something and we won on one point but we lost on another point. We have to work towards the Malaysian trials in February. So we don't fight for the title, we have to work harder ". He adds : " the character of the bike was very similar, it made no sense to attack the clock. We need more, it's not an easy bike and we see it in the other riders too. If a motorcycle works, you take it and you go fast, you have to work to make a competitive motorcycle. » And he ends his indictment thus: “ the new engine has a little more torque – but really only a little. We need a bigger step in this area too. Not even to be at the level of other manufacturers, but to at least get closer to them."
Marc Marquez, completed 50 laps at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, with the Japanese manufacturer providing him with three motorcycles to test. His teammate Joan mir had a hard time on the RC213V. Ultimately, the 2020 MotoGP World Champion on Suzuki did not exceed the 18e place. For his part, the winner of the Valencia GP, Alex Rins, who moved from Suzuki to LCR-Honda, did not have an easy start with his new machine either. The Spaniard only finished the event at 20e place, just ahead of Raul Fernández (Aprilia) and the rookie Augusto Fernández (GASGAS). Nakagami punchline 19è...
Valencia test: times
Credit classification motogp.com
