Fabio Quartararo laments big problem that ‘destroyed’ Yamaha at Buriram MotoGP test

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Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo was one of the standout performers at MotoGP’s first test of the 2025 season in Sepang.

Quartararo finished inside the top three on all three days of running and showed signs of real progress in race simulations and qualifying runs.

MotoGP rivals feel ‘really strongly’ about Yamaha’s progress and believe that they have managed to make a jump with their winter development.

It’s a good sign for the 2021 MotoGP champion, who could only manage a 13th-placed finish in the riders’ championship last season. He may be in the equation for podiums again.

Yamaha had the fourth fastest bike overall in 2024 but could be in contention to be second behind Ducati on the evidence of testing.

After all, Yamaha are doing something ‘pretty crazy’ behind the scenes by developing two bikes at once in a bid to boost their hopes of winning beyond 2027.

Fabio Quartararo claims front tyres ‘destroyed’ Yamaha in Buriram test

For all their start was promising in Sepang, day one of the Buriram test in Thailand was a different story for the Japanese manufacturer.

Quartararo could only muster sixth of 19 runners who competed after the first day of running at the track, which will play host to the season opener in just over two weeks.

After nearly seamless running in Malaysia, Yamaha finally face some problems, and they might not be able to solve them straight away.

READ MORE: The eight-figure pay cut Fabio Quartararo was facing if he left Yamaha for Ducati satellite team

Quartararo claims that the front tyre ‘destroyed’ his running and that his team need to figure things out before the first race of the year.

“To be honest, I think that we have made some steps, but today, I didn’t feel any good with both tyres. Front soft and front medium,” he told MotoGP’s After the Flag show.

“Basically, I’m struggling a lot with the tyres for this test, and hopefully tomorrow [we] improve because we know it’s the race tyres. Have not a good feeling with any tyres at all, so we need to figure it out. The front tyre destroyed a little bit our day.”

Fabio Quartararo’s facial expression told a clear story about Yamaha after MotoGP test

Quartararo hasn’t managed to win a MotoGP race since 2022 and failed to finish higher than sixth in any Grand Prix last year.

It was comfortably the worst campaign of his career so far and leaves plenty of room for improvement in 2025.

Quartararo’s positive facial expression gave a clear story about Yamaha in Sepang. They may have even surprised themselves with their performance.

READ MORE: Lin Jarvis in awe of what Yamaha have ‘miraculously’ done before 2025 MotoGP season

Gino Borsoi loves that Yamaha have invested heavily in MotoGP for the ‘first time’, and it could reap huge rewards for themselves and new partner Pramac.

Being able to rely on and learn from the data of a second team could be exactly what they need to propel themselves back into contention at the sharp end of the field.