Two days of MotoGP testing at Misano have concluded with rookie Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) recording the quickest lap time despite still feeling the effects of a crash last weekend at Silverstone. Quartararo and his teammate Franco Morbidelli were the quickest of the Yamahas … just ahead of factory riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales . Yamaha occupied four of the six quickest positions at the test.
Quartararo nearly matched the lap record for the circuit (set previously by Jorge Lorenzo). Several teams were testing new parts and engine settings. In particular, Rossi and Viñales had new carbon fiber swingarms, and a new engine spec.
The next MotoGP race is scheduled for this same Misano track on September 15. You can find the combined times for the test here.
Here is the press release from Petronas Yamaha SRT regarding the test:
The PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team duo of Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli have set themselves up perfectly for the San Marino Grand Prix by ending a two-day test at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli first and third respectively. Capitalising on a strong day one where they finished first and second, the pair were able to work through their testing program as well as ending fast on both time attack and race pace.
Making his MotoGP debut at the track, Quartararo was able to get up to speed rapidly by completing 170 laps in two days. Concentrating on understanding the Misano track ahead of the race, he heads home confident that his pace and outright speed means he won’t be at a disadvantage when practice gets underway.
Working on making marginal gains in small areas for the two days, Morbidelli was able to finish the opening day only 0.02 behind his team-mate before ending the test in third overall. Content that he and his team have improved their understanding of the Yamaha YZR-M1 ahead of his home race at Misano, Morbidelli says he’s leaving the test more than happy with their progress.
Action gets back underway in the 2019 MotoGP championship at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on Friday 13th September, ahead of the San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday 15th September.
Franco Morbidelli – 3rd (+0.614 )
“Today we wanted to improve a little bit and we were able to do just that even though the conditions were hotter and more difficult than yesterday. We made the turning of the bike better, which is something that we were missing in Silverstone, and I’m happy with the progress we’ve made. I’m looking forward to resting a little bit this week, but I’m pleased with the way we’re going into the race weekend. I don’t think the times show too much about what will happen though, because with perfect conditions and lots of track time, testing is always quite different from the reality.”
Fabio Quartararo – 1st
“We tried some really positive new settings on the front of the bike, which is positive because there’s a lot of braking on the side of the tyre at Misano and you need to get good feedback from the bike. We didn’t make a lot of laps on the second day like we did on day one, but we found some good things for the race. I’m really looking forward to the weekend now that we’ve been able to be really fast. The times won’t mean too much come the race because we’ll have very different levels of grip then, but I was able to do an amazing lap, I have good pace and we’ll arrive to the race with over 150 laps done before we even start FP1.”
See more of MD’s great photography:
I want to know more about Yamahas new carbon fiber swingarm 😮 how much weight is it saving? I seem to recall Honda already has a cfsa of their own
TRINI66
I beleive Quartararo with the same bike he is riding now & same set up with a little more grunt & horse power as he is 15 mph slower on the top speed and he will be giving Marquez a run for his money ,he obviously enjoys riding the Yamaha and it must suit his riding style .
I believe MM tested a total of 4 differently (new and unfamiliar bikes/parts) configured bikes at Misano.
I wonder how many of the other teams/riders were also testing a number of new and unfamiliar bikes?
I wonder if Quatararo (and his teammate) was simply doing hot laps on his current and familiar bike?
I wonder if all of the teams arrived to Misano with just their current bike(s) to simply complete hot laps would they have posted faster times?
I wonder which teams will benefit in the long run (2020 and beyond) from the Misano testing.
Jeez, I wonder…
Every single team would be testing new settings and parts. GP track time is too rare and expensive to simply do “track days”.
Quartararo mentioned in an article that Marquez never mounted a calibration tire to run a hot lap, so he wasn’t sure how his time really compared to Marquez.
They are never just doing “track days” at this level.
They collect data with every turn of the tire and then some. I would say though, that each teams testing regimen is different. You can bet the factory teams will generally be testing more new parts than the satellite teams and might not be focused on a hot lap time.
Not a Rossi hater by any means, but Fabio Q deserves that factory ride.
The times don’t really mean anything. The Petronas Yamaha Team were focused on race setup while the other guys were testing new parts. At least that’s what I heard.
If the times didn’t mean anything, the teams wouldn’t record them. The times don’t prove who will win the race in the future, but they definitely have meaning.
The times conclusively show that Fabio Quatararo is a fast and talented rider, and that the 2nd-tier Yamaha is still a fast bike.
I’ll bet the Yamaha factory gets tired of the Sattelite team setting fastest times on year old bikes, that it’s factory riders couldnt seem to ride very fast and complained about constantly.
Not unlike Ducati a few years ago. The “evil” GP15 and 16 bikes got a lot of pace under satellite riders. It’s worth noting that these bikes aren’t Frozen in time. They continue to develop and improve.
I know they evolve but these are basically the same bikes that Yamaha MotoGP project leader Kouji Tsuya apologized to Rossi and Vinales for giving them uncompetitive bikes. They are certainly not 2019 spec bikes like Rossi and Viinales have now.
If they’re running this well, I don’t think they can be considered the same as the bikes Vin and Rossi struggled so badly on. Different than today’s factory bike? Sure, but not the same as last year.