Neil Hodgson ‘can’t understand’ why no MotoGP teams copy KTM after seeing what Yamaha put on Fabio Quartararo’s bike

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Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo has hit the Sachsenring desperate to get his season back on a more positive path in the 2025 German Grand Prix following a torrid run.

The 26-year-old headed to Saxony after earning just one top 10 finish in the past five rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season. Since Quartararo secured his sole podium so far this term with P2 in the Spanish Grand Prix, the Yamaha rider has even only seen the chequered flag twice.

His plight has also seen Quartararo plummet from sixth in the riders’ standings on 50 points after the Jerez event to 11th with 67 points ahead of the German GP. In the same five-round stretch, KTM rival Pedro Acosta has climbed from 10th with 33 points to eighth on 98 points.

Such has been his woe, in fact, that Quartararo is threatening Yamaha that he could leave if the M1 does not improve. It is not the first time that the 2021 champion has hinted that his future may be elsewhere, with Quartararo ready to leave Yamaha for a title-winning project.

Neil Hodgson ‘just can’t understand why’ no MotoGP teams copy KTM’s swingarm

So, Quartararo took to the Sachsenring during Friday’s timed pre-qualifying practice session for the German GP with new aero fitted on his Yamaha YZR-M1. Neil Hodgson was instantly impressed by the rear wing the Frenchman featured, but it also left him with a big question.

READ MORE: Everything to know about KTM from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy

While Hodgson believes Yamaha’s new rear aero ought to help Quartararo, the 2003 World Superbikes champion ‘cannot understand’ why no MotoGP teams copy the swingarm that KTM have on the RC16. It is a vital part on a premier class bike, yet no rival is as aggressive.

“I prefer it,” Hodgson told TNT Sports 2 (11/07, 14:15) about Yamaha’s new rear aero at the German GP. “That’s got to be worth a tenth [of a second], hasn’t it? I just can’t understand why no other team have batwings on their swingarms like KTM have.”

Yamaha will know they must give Fabio Quartararo more than just upgraded rear aero

Quartararo is still the only rider to deny Ducati rival Marc Marquez a pole position so far this season, with the Yamaha racer topping the qualifying sessions at the Spanish, French, British and Dutch Grands Prix. He even turned only one of his poles into a podium, with P2 at Jerez.

While Quartararo would have won the British GP but for his rear ride height device sticking on at Silverstone, the M1’s lack of race pace has often proved costly. It was especially clear that Yamaha need to improve their race pace at Assen as Quartararo settled for a P10 finish.

Quartararo lost ground owing to Fermin Aldeguer’s highside in the Dutch GP, but he did not have the speed to stay with the leaders regardless of having to take avoiding action. Yamaha will have to hope their new rear aero delivers far more than Hodgson suspects in Germany.