Sand talks a lot about the Honda crisis in MotoGP, but, curiously, its great rival, traditionally, is even worse off. The numbers of yamaha in 2023 they are to cry. Right in Germany it was fulfilled a whole year without victoriesequivalent to 17 dates without tasting it Is Last in the Constructors’ World Championship, with 68 points to 180 of Ducati. In the pilots, Fabio Quartararo is eighth and he is 57, 103 from Bagnaia.
In fact, the 2021 champion himself was resounding at the Sachsenring. “Is not the worst moment of my career, but it is the worst in MotoGP”, he released.
In reality, the situation can only be compared to another critical moment for those with tuning forks: 2003. So, they finished the campaign with just a podium (Alex Barros in France). His salvation came with the signing of Valentino Rossi. Since then, they have always been on top, with or without Vale, until now.
MARCA wanted to press how the Japanese want to get out of this hole. “Surely, it has been a completely different start to the season than what we expected. We did some good winter tests, where we were satisfied with all the work that had been done in Japan. But we have learned, having no experience with aerodynamics, that it is not enough to only improve downforce and speed, you also need to know how to turn the bike. Because with what happened this winter, we improved the ‘downforce’, the maximum speed, but, later, the motorcycle did not turn at all. When we had to homologate the first aerodynamic package, we had to lose a bit of top speed and back to 2021 to have, at least, maneuverability. Has been disappointing. We had other goals. for me, no need to talk about crisis because, probably, we have redirected development in a direction that was not the right one and we are paying for that little experience with the aerodynamics. The others started long before us and now we are paying for that delay. We have to do the best we can with what we have until the next race, we have to be ready, with the package we have, take advantage of the problems that others have, as already happened in Austin. When there is a chance, it is not always achieved because our pilots are always forced to go to the limit and that makes you make mistakes”, he explains. Massimo Meregallithe team leader.
The Italian leader openly admits that, after only six tests, they consider the World Cup lost. “Yes, I don’t want to hide from the evidence. We really started thinking that we could play the World Cup, but now it’s not like that. We are in a moment of minimize damage, try to learn from our mistakes. Probably, get an aero package later, I hope it will be in Silverstone, but they have not confirmed it yet. We have also asked for and have to receive a improvement to engine performance. All this is little, but… surely We are not in a position to fight for the World Cup“, he confesses.
The executive remembers another era of drought, like in 2017 and 2018, when they were 25 races without winning and the Japanese came out to apologize to their pilots, but then, they finished third and fourth in the World Championship. “We had other difficult times, like with Vale (Rossi) and Maverick (Viales)… Now, our rivals, especially the European ones, have taken a really big leap. It’s strange to see three European factories at the top and two Japanese who have a hard time. Surely, we have to take a step to change the working method. It is always said that the Japanese are conservative, but we are working. It is a cliché, but we must unite the method of the Japanese with the way of the Europeans. Because we already have a base in Italy, with European engineers. We have to unite them to have an advantage. We’re making it. I hope that the results will be seen shortly, although soon does not mean this year“, exposes looking for solutions.
they don’t leave
Faced with this panorama, and with only two motorcycles, some could think of a frightened type of the one made by Suzuki, when abandoning MotoGP. From the second most successful brand they categorically deny it. “Not right now, there is not the slightest sign that Yamaha decides to leave. We are already talking about the 2027 regulation and we have agreements with Dorna,” he ditch.
