Fabio Quartararo is, without a doubt, the spearhead within the structure of Yamaha in MotoGP. While the Frenchman leads the general classification, his teammate, Franco Morbidelli, is a regular in the middle of the grid. The Italian has only added 26 points so far this year, compared to the 200 accumulated by his boxing partner. The next best ranked M1 is that of Andrea Dovizioso, who will retire after the San Marino GP.
But why is there such a difference between Morbidelli and Dovizioso? Wbilco Zeelenberg, director of the Yamaha RNF satellite structure, believes that the root of the problems could be in the tires. “In 2020, Michelin changed the carcass on the rear tyre. The grip when leaning is different than with the old tyre,” he explains in an interview with Motorsport.com.
“You can’t lean that much, because that generates a lot of temperature in the tyres. Franco and Andrea lean a lot, because they don’t hang down from the bike as much as other riders do. I think that’s why they have so many problems.”
But in 2020 the current tires were already being used, and Morbidelli won three races and was runner-up (ahead of Quartararo). “Yes, but our bike has also changed since 2020,” replied Zeelenberg.
In 2020, Morbidelli raced the 2019 Yamaha. He also contested the start of 2021 with the old model, until he had to sit out with a knee injury. When it returned in the autumn it was part of the factory team, running the latest specification of the M1.
So Morbidelli was absent for part of the bike’s development, while Quartararo didn’t have that problem. “Franco got on the podium in Jerez last year, and everything went relatively well. Then he injured his knee,” recalls Zeelenberg.
“Since then, he hasn’t ridden at his level. Right now he’s fit, but he’s still struggling, and that’s a mystery to me. I think his riding style doesn’t suit the bike.”
Fabio Quartararo is faster in curves
But what makes Quartararo better than Morbidelli and Dovizioso? “He has more cornering speed at times when he can’t overheat the tyres, he drives with less lean angle.”
“So he avoids the problems that the other drivers have. His teammates drive in a more old-fashioned style. They brake hard and enter the corner with the brake on. Fabio brakes straight ahead, releases the brake and then turns. He does this in every corner, and manages to be one or two km/h faster in each corner.
“We share all the data and we see exactly what he is doing. Thanks to his talent and his height he handles the bike better. He is very tall and can keep traction on the rear wheel at all times. He does it better than the others. He is a combination of factors”.
“Fabio has never ridden any other bike than the Yamaha. Andrea says it’s impossible to do 25 laps like this. He can follow it for one lap, but Andrea says it’s not the usual way. But Fabio can do it for the whole distance of the race.” .
Switching brands is getting harder
Quartararo has been competitive since the first day he made his MotoGP debut in 2019. The Frenchman and the M1 are a perfect match. “Yes, he ‘clicked’, but he also learned,” says Zeelenberg, who accompanied Quartararo in his first two years with the Petronas team.
“Andrea was at Yamaha and then he went to Ducati for eight years. In the process, he got used to a lot of things that allow you to go fast on the Ducati, but are not useful on any other bike. You could see it with Jorge [Lorenzo] , who had to spend a year at Ducati to start winning”.
“And then he couldn’t do anything at Honda. It’s not that they are bad bikes, but you have to ride differently, and you have to learn how to do it. The level is so high that you don’t have this adaptation time anymore.”
“You can see that with Aleix as well. No one thought he would be able to do these things. He rides the Aprilia like an animal, he’s steady and fast. Of course the bike got better, but so did he. He always had to be above of the others. He reached the limit and made some wrong decisions, but now he is fast and regular.
Do you want to read our news before anyone else and for free? Follow us here on our Telegram channel and you won’t miss a thing. All the information, at your fingertips!
