Let's talk MotoGP: Fabio Quartararo is far too lonely

At the MotoGP French Grand Prix, Fabio Quartararo once again delighted the fans until his crash during Sunday's race. We can't really blame him, because he had to push, on the one hand, and on the other, he got caught out by one of the Bugatti's most treacherous corners, the Raccordement. Yamaha is struggling to recover from its dark years, but yet, converting points is very difficult. Why? Especially because Fabio Quartararo is far too alone.

Beware of the Marc Marquez phenomenon

 

Quartararo made me smile. His pole position lap in Q2 was just exceptional; it makes me say, once again, that he is one of the best in history in this exercise. In the Sprint, we very clearly saw the difference between the Ducati and the Yamaha, because "El Diablo" could do nothing against the comeback of Fermin Aldeguer. Yet, he still fought, honorably, until the Spaniard forced his way into the Museum.

 

 

It made me realize that Yamaha still has a long way to go. On a track historically favorable to the YZR-M1, Quartararo finished almost three seconds behind winner Marc Marquez, despite riding very well. In the context of this season, it's relatively small, but it's huge when you look at the race. The Iwata firm has made immense progress to escape the red zone of the standings, but to catch Ducati, it will have to do even more. The closer Yamaha gets, the more difficult it will be.

This is particularly due to the " Fabio Quartararo-dependence "It reminds me a lot of the time when Marc Marquez was the only one performing at Honda in MotoGP. When a single driver runs the shop, historically, it often leads to the regression of said manufacturer. Why? Because the technical direction is totally dominated by the opinion of a single man, however talented he may be. And we therefore end up with a dependency that is very complicated to manage when the one in charge is absent.

Basically, on circuits where Quartararo is good, like Jerez or Le Mans, Yamaha is good. But when we get to more difficult tracks for the Frenchman, then Yamaha will be at its worst.This is a major problem in a rebuilding project and it is for this reason that Honda is going to such great lengths to try to recruit at the moment – ​​the rumors are flying all over the place, between Toprak Razgatlioglu, Pedro Acosta and now Jorge Martin.

Yamaha absolutely must arm itself with a second major force. This could only motivate Fabio Quartararo, and give more consistency to the Japanese brand. Such a maneuver would allow the performance of "El Diablo" to be decoupled from that of the YZR-M1, which is never bad for a brand. Ducati dominates in this way precisely because many great talents have contributed their stone to the building in recent years. Pramac played a key role in this construction with Jack Miller, Danilo Petrucci, John Zarco and the " Martinator ", all of which have been instrumental in Ducati's overall progress. And that's what Yamaha is missing, which, at least based on the low number of rumors, is not very active in the transfer market.

Perhaps an exceptional signing is being prepared in secret, of course, but we hear a lot more about the famous V4 than about a recruit in recent weeks. Besides, I still struggle to understand why Yamaha is spending so much energy on a brand new engine when the current version of the inline four seems to suit the riders, and at the same time it is necessary to prepare the 850cc mill for 2027. If the tuning fork company is doing it, it is because it must still have the means, but beware of the dispersion of forces, as Massimo Meregalli implied.

 

 

Un supporting cast limit

 

Quartararo's three colleagues, in my opinion, no longer really have their place in such an ambitious project. And yet, two of my favorite riders are in the lineup: Alex Rins and Miguel Oliveira. Not to mention one of my favorites, Augusto Fernandez, who has already competed in three races this season. Rins and Oliveira were once capable of spectacular performances, but their profiles are too similar for it to work in the long term. Their problem is that injuries are weakening them greatly, and I don't even believe that a rainy victory for Miguel Oliveira is still possible. Yes, he was exceptional in this role of outsider.…but that was in 2022, three seasons ago already.

The same goes for Rins, whose last stroke of genius dates back to Austin 2023. It's tough, but we have to realize that time passes much more quickly for very high-level athletes, however talented they may be. And to my great dismay, I think that unless there's a miracle or a completely truncated race, We will not see Rins and Oliveira shocking the motorcycle world again like they did before..

This doesn't make them completely useless, and I don't deny the relevance of Oliveira's comments. But if a brand wants to come back and establish itself within three to five years, it cannot afford to be represented on the track by riders in decline; especially not Yamaha, which embodies a prestige matched only by Honda on the grid. This is, I think, the sad truth..

Jack Miller remains at Pramac. I was skeptical about his signing, but It must be recognized that he was quite surprising in the first rounds. However, as with KTM, we are only at the sixth Grand Prix and it is already more complicated. The Australian is on a series of three consecutive retirements, while the French GP seemed written for him. I have the impression that he is falling back into his bad habits, except that the more time goes by, the more difficult it will be for him to get out of them.

I will have the opportunity to write another article on the ideal candidates for these handlebars. In the meantime, Tell me what you think about the situation at Yamaha in the comments!

As a reminder, this article only reflects the thoughts of its author, and not of the entire editorial team.

 

 

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport