The Yamaha MotoGP team continues its preparations for the 2024 season and team boss Massimo Meregalli announced the development of two new engines after the first test at Misano.
Performance of Yamaha YZR-M1
In recent years, the YZR-M1 has not been able to show the desired performance in MotoGP races and has fallen back in the rankings. Fabio Quartararo's second place in the championship, with only three victories in 2021 after the 2022 championship, revealed Yamaha's performance problems. In the 2023 season, they could only reach the podium twice.
Misano Test and Expectations
Last week's Misano test was an important step towards the 2024 season for Yamaha. Same zamIt was also the beginning of the process of convincing Quartararo to remain committed to the team for the next season. However, the first version of the 1 engine, developed with the help of famous Formula 2024 engineer Luca Marmorini, did not have the impact expected by Quartararo. Quartararo stated that he "expected much more" after the test.
Lack of communication
Meregalli explained that the reason behind this difference of opinion regarding Quartararo's expectations was "lack of communication". Yamaha did not adequately convey its expectations to its rider before the test. However, Meregalli stated that this different perspective is normal and that they are already working on two different versions.
Future Steps
Meregalli said that work is continuing on two new 2024 engine versions, which will be introduced at the Valencia test in November and pre-season work in Malaysia in February. These steps are expected to help Yamaha become more competitive in the 2024 season.
Problems and Precautions
Yamaha's first session in India on Friday was disrupted by a gearbox issue affecting Quartararo. This issue led to the early termination of Franco Morbidelli's session. Yamaha continues to work to resolve the issue.
