Marco Bezzecchi
Fabio Quartararo had a very good 2024 MotoGP season despite what the riders’ championship suggests about his performance.
He finished five positions higher (13th) than teammate Alex Rins (18th) and scored 82 more points than the Spaniard managed (31).
The Frenchman is entering his seventh season with Yamaha in 2025, but their pace is far from the level they had when he won the championship back in 2021.
In fact, Quartararo failed to finish inside the top five once last season and recorded both the lowest-ever finish and points total of his career.
Rins admitted he cannot match Quartararo with his superior experience helping him to set his bike up to his liking a bit better.
They’re going to have plenty on their plate this year as their team looks to develop a new V4 engine while attempting to catch up to their rivals.
Fabio Quartararo faces ‘most difficult’ problem of overriding Yamaha MotoGP bike
Such is the competitive nature of MotoGP, the grid is often split by very little in qualifying, decreasing the margin for error.
Yamaha’s struggles mean that they’re often on the backend of a four or five-tenth deficit which leaves them astray from their rivals.
This can lead the riders to override or go over the limits in pursuit of that little bit of extra performance that they need.
Speaking to Crash.net, Yamaha technical director Max Bartolini said that one of the most difficult conditions for Quartararo is trying not to push so much.
“In general Fabio is [better] on braking and carrying corner speed. Alex is [better] at managing the corner exit. But both are very good,” he said.
“Now we suffer a lack of performance [from the bike] in general, so you try to override to try to fix it, and sometimes it is not easy. That is one of the most difficult conditions; trying not to override. But they are doing a good job.”
Why Yamaha could make good MotoGP progress in 2025
Yamaha have one eye on the 2027 regulations with the development of their all-new V4 engine, which may be put on track soon.
They’ve been the only manufacturer left on the grid using the inline-four since Suzuki departed the sport at the end of 2022.
READ MORE: Luca Marini’s assertive Yamaha theory for Alex Rins’ career-worst season
From 2027, there will be a new 850cc engine, down from 1000cc, and the Japanese outfit wants to get ahead of the curve by developing an engine now before it matters with the new rules.
Jack Miller admitted that Yamaha were wrong about Ducati, who brought a ride height device that they anticipated would be banned sooner than 2027.
It leaves them with an even bigger deficit to recover from, but one that their new engine could help to eat away at if it proves to be fruitful in 2025.
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