Yamaha doesn’t have answers for its flawed performance in Qatar MotoGP. Quartararo expresses his displeasure

The reigning world champion Quartararo qualified 11th on the grid for Sunday’s 22-lap season-opener in Qatar under the floodlights, but opponents believed he’d be strong in the race.

Quartararo has expressed his dissatisfaction with Yamaha’s apparent lack of progress in improving the maximum speed of its bike, claiming in pre-season testing that he had already hit the limit of the 2022 M1.

Quartararo acknowledges he “cannot be confident” in the package he has moving forward after all five of Yamaha’s manufacturer competitors finished ahead of him in Sunday’s Qatar GP.

The MotoGP world champion, on the other hand, was unable to move up to seventh after a solid opening lap, and was pipped to eighth by Johann Zarco of Pramac by 0.007 seconds – the Yamaha rider being 10.543s behind winner Enea Bastianini.

He said, “Well, knowing that last year we won both races and now we finish basically behind, quite far back, of course, I’m worried, I will not say I’m confident. We make the fourth row, going to Q1 in Qatar.  So, I will say I cannot be super confident. But I’ll always say, I am not an engineer.

“My job is to give 100% and focus for every race, and I give my 100% in every condition; if I’m fighting for the victory, P3, P5, P9, I give my 100%. So, that is something that for sure I will give my best whatever the position I get.” Quartararo added.

Quartararo believes the pressure in his front tyre flew over the sky after just two circuits, explaining what went wrong in his race. This is a common issue for Yamaha riders in the pack since their lack of peak speed prevents them from overtaking on straights. Extreme front tyre pressure issues are also nothing new for Quartararo, who experienced a similar problem in an Aragon race in 2020.

Even, Dovizioso, the 15-time MotoGP race winner and three-time championship runner-up expressed his displeasure with Yamaha as MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix was hindered by front tyre pressure problems.

Dovizioso qualified 20th after being hampered by windy conditions on Saturday, and finished 14th, 27.3 seconds behind winner Enea Bastianini, as he fought with high front tyre pressure.

With Basitanini winning the Qatar MotoGP 2022, Quartararo’s dissatisfaction with Yamaha is not surprising. Hopefully, with the problems faced by the MotoGP world champion, Yamaha will undertake some pointers, and modify their racing machines as per the rider’s demands. If Yamaha’s machines cannot deliver the confidence required by their riders, it is highly unlikely that the brand will get to bag the podium next time as well.