They celebrated a long-awaited MotoGP World Championship with Fabio Quartararo in 2021, but in just a year apart, Yamaha was called to suffer. The Frenchman had been warning him, because despite being world champion, he was more than aware that the Ducati was, and would continue to be in 2022, the best motorcycles on the grid. And not only because they are the most complete, but because their speed continued well above what other brands could give. ‘El Diablo’ insisted more than he could to the brand: he wanted extra potential since without him, it would be more difficult to defend the title. Despite his renovation, he gave a ultimatum and the Japanese did not focus. 2022 was going to be tough and, losing the crown with a disappointing second half of the season, it turned out to be. And more than ever they put themselves in the shoes of Honda.
Its biggest rival has suffered the worst crisis in its history for years and, despite the fact that its attempts are multiple, the absence of Marc Márquez did not allow them to get out of a loop that remains. The hope is in 2023, when the Spaniard reappears full time, although the one from Cervera continues to insist on the steps that those of the golden wing They must give this winter to be able to fight for everything, including the World Cup. Yamaha is also in those, looking for a “turning point” that not only arrives inside the box, but also in one of its drivers: Franco Morbidelli. World runner-up in 2020, the Italian has been missing in recent seasons. And no longer because of the fact that he will not fight for victories or podiums, if not, it has hardly been within the Top15 this 2022. But without changes in its lineup, the brand and its maximum representative, Lin Jarvis, they trust that he can “rediscover himself” because “it can be fast”.
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And that is another of the great similarities with Honda. those of the golden wing they rely on Márquez while, at Yamaha, they have to do it with a Quartararo who left the Valencia tests without great joy. “I think there are some similarities with Honda. I think that for a long time, especially the last few, Marc has always been an extraordinary driver who can do things that other drivers just haven’t been able to do.” Jarvis admitted to Crash.netassuring that Morbidelli’s knee injury “was no longer a problem” this past year, although “he was missing something” since “he has never been able to really find confidence with the bike”. And it is that “for the Yamaha to work well, you must be aggressive with the brakes and you must enter the curve quickly”, something that Franco, since he entered the official after leaving Viñales, has not been able to find. “You need a lot of confidence to do that,” insists the manager, who, precisely, highlights this point as one of Fabio’s strongest points: “He has a lot of confidence with the front of the bike and Frankie He’s been suffering to find that.”
The objective is to “give him a better bike for the future”. Both Morbidelli and Quartararo, because, taking into account that they will no longer have a satellite team, the progress in the official will have to be greater. Either way, Jarvis understands that “it is not easy to have a teammate as fast as Fabio”. “I’ve seen that with other drivers, when the teammate is extraordinarily fast, sometimes it’s hard to be on the other side of the box looking at the data and saying ‘how is that possible?'”, explains the manager, although aware that , for a rider who “has won a race and is runner-up in MotoGP”, your ability to cope with adversity “is still there” and he just has to find her again, to meet again. “We have to give him better tools to help him in that process,” she insists, but only time puts each one in their place.