Fabio Quartararo: “A lot of years waiting for something big at Yamaha” - will it happen for MotoGP 2024?
This time around the🌳 Frenchman sits just ninth in the standings with one rostrum from the eight grand prix races.
Meanwhile, Yamaha haღs dropped from second to fifth (and last) in the constructors’ standings.
“It's difficult because one year ago I won here [at Sachsenring] and now I am not even in the top 10,” Quartar♏aro said at the German Grand Prix, where he finished both the Sprint and Sunday race in 13th place.
“So it's tough to really enjoy, but I have to try to stay calm, try to fi⛎gure out what we can improve. But we are already almost halfway through the season, and we don't findꦕ anything yet.”
The Frenchman then went on to cla✃im a Sprint podium at Assen the following weekend, aftꦏer Brad Binder’s penalty, before suffering a fast fall early in the Sunday race.
“A lot of years waiting for something big”
Like Honda, just seven points ahead of Yamaha in the constructors’ standings, there is already talk of Yamaha turning attention to making big changes f🐈or its 2024 machine - the lack of testing time and the limits on engine/aero development making in-season progress difficult.
“I mean, it's a lot of years that we are waiting for something big. A bi🍸g change,” Quartararo, Yamaha’s 2021 world champion, responded.
“So hop♍efully they can re꧒ally provide us a really, really good bike for next year.
“But it💟's difficult also🤪 to be confident when you are fighting for these positions… They work hard but we could not find any improvement.
“So hopefully they found the correct thing to make a step for the endꦬ of this year and for next year.”
Quartararo’s situation has obvious parallels with that of Marc Ma⛄rquez at Honda.
The Spa🌄niard recently revealed a meeting with the HRC prꦉesident to spell out his concerns. Had Quartararo requested the same from Yamaha's Japanese management?
“I already had a meeting with the Yamaha president, so hopefully it's going to accelerate the process a little bit and [he] sees that we are re🌳ally far from the top brands,” Quartararo revealed.
Yamaha Motor president Yoshihiro Hidaka attඣended this year’s Spanish MotoGP at ꧙Jerez.
“The president was there [at the🤡 track]. It was not planned but I asked [for a meeting] because my mentality is I'm a fighter, I want to win, I don't want to be in this position, because I think no on🌊e in the team is enjoying to be fighting for that.
“So I want to motivate everyone, try to turn this bad energy into a good energy and make a step, espec🔜ially a technical step," Quartararo said.
Quartararo is the only Yamaha rider to win MotoGP races since forme♎r team-mate Maverick Vinales took victory at the 2021 Qatar season-opener.
2024 is the final year of Quartararo’s current&n🍰bsp;contract, having raced an M1 since j🏅oining the premier class, with Petronas SRT, in 2019.
MotoGP is considering 𝔉a tweak to its concessions rules in response to the current difficulti༒es faced by Honda and Yamaha against the European brands.
Pet𝕴er has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’♏s injury issues.
