If Maverick Vinales quickly adapted to the chassis of the 2017 Yamaha, with excellent times during winter testing then two victories during the first Grands Prix, Valentino on the other hand did not appreciate it.
Rossi liked the new Yamaha chassis much more, which he tried for the first time during the Monday test in Barcelona, then used in the race with a superb victory at Assen and then 5th place at the Sachsenring. Vale can therefore be satisfied with this second version of the 2017 chassis, but he would have appreciated having had it before.
For him, Yamaha should strengthen its team of test riders, facing Honda which entrusts Cal Crutchlow a factory RC213V model 2017 (without forgetting Miller and Rabat, nor Hiroshi Aoyama and Takuma Takahashi in Japan).
Ducati also has a very strong group to develop its Desmosedici, with Danilo Petrucci who within the Pramac team is piloting a third GP17, without forgetting the testers Michele Pirro and Casey Stoner.
“It would certainly help if we had a similar situation at Yamaha to our rivals in the World Championship, believes Rossi. The difficulty with this question is that to be able to evaluate the advantages of a new chassis, you have to drive very quickly.
“You have to have speed like in a MotoGP race. There are not many drivers who can do these lap times. At Yamaha we have test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga in Japan. He is fast because he has won many races in the Japanese Superbike Championship and the Suzuka Eight Hours several times, he was also second in the Valencia GP.
"But he's not as strong as Maverick and I...That can't be changed." We are the workers, we are the factory drivers. All workers are constantly dealing with changes. If you don't, the title fight is over. »
Katsuyuki Nakasuga's problem is that he has to develop the official R1 of the Yamaha Factory Racing Team almost alone for the Suzuka 8H, the victorious machine in 2015 and 2016, and favorite this year. His teammates are Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark, and the difficulty comes from the Bridgestone tire equipment, which Nakasuga must develop for Suzuka. It is then very far from the M1 in Michelin.
Two other Yamahas are entered in MotoGP, but the 2016 models entrusted to Johann Zarco and Jonas Folger cannot be of any use in developing the 2017 versions. During the first half of the season, both Tech3 riders proved several times that they had a good feeling with the 2016 machines, believes Rossi. They are also very good pilots… They are strong.
“Zarco's race went well at Le Mans, followed by Folger's race last weekend. They were fast in the race until the end, so they also spared the rear tire reasonably. You just can't push it on the 2016 machines. The drivers make the difference. I congratulate them on their success. »
Photos © Yamaha
Source: speedweek. com
