“Yamaha is back!” ". These were the strong words of Maverick Viñales spoken in the enthusiasm of his victory at the Qatar Grand Prix. This first event at Losail followed a Doha Grand Prix at the same place which saw Fabio Quartararo perform the same show of force as his teammate a week earlier. The Iwata brand did an excellent job by blocking the Ducati designated favorites. Are the problems of the M1 in recent years, and particularly seen in 2020, to be filed away as bad memories? The pilots are still asking to see while the Petronas satellite machines have been hit by a curse...
Yamaha leave him Qatar with a double victory. A good omen for the rest of the 2021 season? This still remains to be demonstrated. A removal of doubt required by the brand's drivers who were the first to suffer from the past inconsistency of the M1. “ I think we'll have to wait a little longer ", said Maverick Vinales on the certainties to be validated.
The Spaniard won the first match of the season and finished fifth a week later. Or the exact opposite route to that of his teammate fabio quartararo. " It's just the first two races, but on the same track. So you have to wait and be patient. We understand the potential, it's good, the bike works well » adds the Top Gun.
« Now we have Portimao, we must face it with an open mind, we must be strong. We suffered a little last year, but this year is a new year, we have to be strong and I will try to make a difference " finished Casa Particular in Viñales.
Portimao will be a powerful indicator of the progress made, or not, by Yamaha . Last year, with the exception of Franco Morbidelli, not a single pilot Yamaha did not enter the top 10 of Portuguese Grand Prix which was the 2020 season finale of MotoGP. Fabio Quartararo remembers it only too well: “ Portimao was one of the toughest tracks for us, apart from Franco on the 2019 spec, who came third » said the Frenchman. “ This will be a time when we see the potential of the bike. For the moment, I can say that it is much better than last year because I feel the limit and I know where it is. I had a good feeling here in Qatar, so we'll see in the other races ».
“At the moment we have a very good Yamaha”
On Losail and the harvest of success, he specifies Motorsport-total: " it's true that this track helps us a lot to make good overtaking maneuvers, for example at the exit of turn 3. I felt so good with the bike to overtake in turns 8, 9, 10, even in 15 ».
« It's good that we also have great confidence going forward ", Explain Quarterly, who are " because all the other drivers are so fast, but sometimes you overtake and don't know what will happen later. You can feel the front end moving and that's something we didn't have last year ". A lack of sensations which then led to falls.
"JI entered the curve without feeling then I fell on the front wheel. With this bike I have a little more front confidence and more feel, and that's what I need to go fast. We got it here in Qatar. I hope I have it in all races and can do strong overtaking maneuvers ».
More Quarterly is not too euphoric, also considering the experience of last year, when he won the two opening races in Jerez, before experiencing difficulties. “ We have walked the same trail twice now. I feel safe with the bike and I feel like we can be fast “, he said. “ Right now I believe in our bike, but I can't say it will work all year round. But at the moment we have a very good bike ". It must now prove itself on other tracks while the worrying signals coming from the satellite team Petronas still prohibit projecting too far into the season.
