Within the official Yamaha team, it has now been fourteen races since we have won anything. A bad series which, in all likelihood, will continue since it started ten months ago. However, the pilots Valentino Rossi et Maverick Vinales don't see anything coming from Iwata. They repeat the same speech over and over again which gets lost in the void. So we are champing at the bit and gritting our teeth while adopting a civilized discourse so as not to add to the crisis...
An exercise that the Doctor handles well. At the end of his tests in Jerez the day after a Spanish Grand Prix which was one of all the disillusionments in the official tuning fork clan, he commented: “ we tried a lot of things, including a new chassis. It was a good test, we found some things good, others were less so. We have progressed a little, that’s for sure. But these are just small details. This is not what will make us take a leap forward ».
Once the scene is set, he still sets deadlines, thus signifying that his patience is not ductile: “ I hope we have something important to try in the next tests. I'm not talking about those in Brno. But of those which will take place before, in Barcelona. I'm not saying this because I'm angry. I am calm and serene, I am just exposing our situation which has been going on for months ».
« I love working on my Yamaha, I trust Yamaha, and in these difficult times I try to find the words to motivate them. It is not with these tests in Jerez that we will make the difference. The next minuses will, however, be crucial. I'm chasing my tenth title. I am in more of a hurry than Yamaha which can still race for 100 years. I don't have that time. So I encourage them to reduce the delays ».
During this time, we must recognize that we find a Johann zarco second in the championship and which has eight consecutive first rows at the end of qualifying. And he rides a Yamaha.
Jerez Tests: Chronos
1. Johann Zarco, Yamaha, 1:37,730
2. Cal Crutchlow, Honda, +0,217
3. Dani Pedrosa, Honda, +0,250
4. Maverick Vinales, Yamaha, +0,409
5. Marc Marquez, Honda, +0,502
6. Franco Morbidelli, Honda, +0,558
7. Tito Rabat, Ducati, +0,574
8. Takaaki Nakagami, Honda, +0,714
9. Jack Miller, Ducati, +0,856
10. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, +0,943
11. Bradley Smith, KTM, +0,944
12. Pol Espargaro, KTM, +0,954
13. Álvaro Bautista, Ducati, +1,405
14. Mika Kallio, KTM, +1,502
15. Tom Lüthi, Honda, + 1,913
16. Xavier Siméon, Ducati, + 1,990
