RiderTua.com – Like Honda, Yamaha realized that it was not at the same level as Ducati when it started its first race in Qatar. In the last few months, Yamaha Japan has made every effort in developing their motorbike, which has made several important changes to reduce the gap and return to the top of MotoGP competition. There are some steps forward, but they still need time to really turn things around compared to a bad 2023. Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins know this, even though at the same time they really want to fight for the best position in the Yamaha team.
Who is the Best at Yamaha? Quartararo or Rins?
After pre-season testing, Quartararo was very disappointed with the fact that he had not made progress in terms of fastest lap. Even with the latest M1, the problems that plagued Quartararo for most of last season could not be resolved, which inevitably affected his results. Progress in time attack to fight for starting position during qualifying is very important to avoid being left too far behind during the race. Although the Yamaha’s engine has been upgraded to make overtaking easier, further effort is needed to do well in qualifying.
The 2021 MotoGP world champion hopes that the test data will be useful to be in a better situation at the race weekend in Lusail. Quartararo said that they got very good information from the test results in Qatar, but they also know that they still have to improve, so he and his team continue to work… “This first race is important, it will show where we are and we hope to be in a better position than last year. I know Yamaha is working hard behind the scenes and everyone in the team is very motivated , so I will give everything, as always, to get the best result and live the first series in the best way,” he said.
In Qatar there will also be a racer who will make his official debut with the M1, namely Alex Rins, a motorbike with which he immediately felt quite comfortable in terms of riding ability. What is clear is that he also wants to improve so that he can fight for significant results. Rins feels that this is a new chapter with the official Yamaha team which starts this weekend. “I stayed in Qatar after the test because the weather forecast where I live wasn’t very good, and I wanted to be able to train as much as possible and be in race mode as soon as possible. I’m very motivated and generally quite curious to see what we can achieve. This is a relatively new bike and a new team. And last year I didn’t race in Qatar, where the circuit has been renovated and rebuilt for 2022, so I know I have to take time to adapt, but more importantly, I’m excited to get started .”
Alex Rins welcomed the first race in Lusail with a very positive mentality, he hopes to start the adventure in the right way which of course may not be easy in the first period. He knows very well that Yamaha has gaps to improve and he may struggle a bit, but the challenge does not scare him and he is confident that with time, the results will come.
