Fabio Quartararo Urges Swift Implementation of Promising ‘Valencia’ Engine Amid Struggles with Current Yamaha Specs

Fabio Quartararo Urges for Immediate Delivery of Best 'Valencia' Engine

Fabio Quartararo: "I'm advocating to get it at the earliest opportunity… Ideally, I want it by tomorrow."

For the third consecutive race, Fabio Quartararo used a 'new' Yamaha engine in the British MotoGP at Silverstone.

This brought the number of engines he has used this season to seven out of a possible nine, but the French driver remains excited for the highly anticipated specification tested privately in Valencia last June.

“We are making progress to get it prepared. I believe this could be beneficial for us,” Quartararo remarked at Silverstone.

“I’m advocating for it to happen at the earliest opportunity.”

"I want it by tomorrow, but that's going to be a challenge. I'm working hard every day to get it done as quickly as I can."

"If we could hold it in Misano, Aragon, or another location, but the sooner, the better."

The 2021 world champion is eager to acquire the powerplant, as it played a significant role in regaining some of the M1’s previous handling capabilities.

"It's an improvement, as we've discovered handling similar to what we had in 2021 and 2022," stated Quartararo, who secured the latest MotoGP victories for both himself and Yamaha during the first part of the 2022 season.

“Indeed, as is typically the case, gaining an advantage in one area often means sacrificing something else, such as top speed in this instance.

“But what I find challenging at the moment is riding the bike naturally."

"You try hard but sense that something is lacking, and while the [Valencia] engine improves the situation, we still lose some speed."

"It's a change, but I still like the way it used to be, where I'd rather lose speed on the straightaways and be quicker in the corners, instead of being fast on the straight parts and really slow in the turns."

Quartararo has been running one of several engine choices tested in Valencia since the Assen event. He later disclosed during the Silverstone weekend that each of his bikes had a unique engine specification.

“We tested three different engines in Valencia. The most promising one needs more development time. For now, we’re using two engine specifications this weekend, and the third one will be introduced later this year,” Quartararo stated.

Combining engine specifications with electronics resulted in a complex weekend at the British MotoGP.

Quartararo explained that they experimented with two distinct specifications and made some tweaks to the electronics, but ultimately the two engines offer entirely different riding experiences.

"One bike is much heavier but offers superior braking. The other bike is lighter but lacks stopping power. So when you approach a braking zone with the heavier bike, you think, 'Oh no, I could have braked later,' or you end up braking too late with the lighter bike."

Quartararo fell short of his aim to secure a spot in Qualifying 2 and ended up starting from 18th place on the grid. The 25-year-old rider then reclaimed his status as the leading competitor on a Japanese motorcycle in both races but ultimately finished in eleventh place.

"Right before the Sprint, we were experimenting with too many adjustments and switching between bikes, which left me without any benchmarks for qualifying," he explained. "Each bike required a different riding style, so I ended up feeling totally disoriented."

"For the Sprint, I mentioned that I wanted to start with a familiar setup, and it was significantly improved. Although it wasn't perfect, we managed to finish reasonably close to Jack [Miller], who took seventh place. However, we faced considerable challenges throughout the weekend."

Fabio Quartararo’s testing duties have been made more challenging due to injuries sustained by his teammate Alex Rins and the development rider Cal Crutchlow. Remy Gardner is stepping in for Crutchlow once more at Silverstone.

“I felt more like I was testing the bike rather than competing in the last few races, so right now, I want to concentrate more on achieving the highest speed possible," Quartararo stated.

"It's been quite a while since I've used the same bike for more than one day in a row."

"It's not the number of new items that's the issue; it's the variety of bikes. Four laps, then switch bikes. Another four laps, then switch again. And for the time attack— which bike should we use?" he explained.

"By the end of last season, we were already aware that the bike had its issues, but we stuck with our foundation, pushing the bike to its utmost capabilities."

"At this moment, we are unable to achieve that, as I am uncertain about the bike's limitations."

Halfway through the 20-round championship, Quartararo is positioned 14th globally, having accumulated 49 points.

Similar to Honda, Yamaha's recent ability to make in-season engine design adjustments has not yet translated into better race outcomes. Quartararo has accumulated 73 points, placing him 11th overall at this point in the previous season.

Similarly, Yamaha and Honda were both at 93 points in the constructors' standings by the tenth round last year. However, this year, Yamaha has accumulated only 53 points, while Honda has just 26.

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