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Three years have passed since Fabio Quartararo dominated at the Assen TT in 2021 in the year he became world champion. Three years later, Yamaha is now in hot pursuit of an increasingly rapid MotoGP, while European manufacturers dominate the championship. So Fabio Quartararo's frustration is justified, as he failed to climb the rankings today, finishing 12th in the race at the Dutch circuit as he had started.
Yet something is moving within Yamaha, although it will take time to see the effects. Indeed, the latest of the moves in the MotoGP chessboard was the acquisition of the Pramac team, which from next season will field two more Yamahas, much needed in a world where data analysis is now paramount. From this perspective then, the premises for the future seem better than in the past, and for Fabio Quartararo the renewal with the Japanese manufacturer now increasingly takes on the tones of a sure bet.
" I am slightly frustrated - Fabio admits - I expected something better especially in the first laps. With the soft the grip for us was very bad, we also saw it with Alex with the medium in the first corner. So grip was the biggest problem and I couldn't push, then towards the middle of the race the feeling improved but by then the pace was too slow."
What do you think this problem with the tyres was due to?
"When we checked the lap times of the front runners it was clear that they didn't have grip problems on the track, so we still don't have an explanation for the problem we had. Now we will analyze the data to see clearly and improve."
Today Pecco was 30 seconds faster than last year, in your pursuit of the Ducatis do you feel you are losing more ground?
"We finished 24 seconds behind him, meaning we gained 6 seconds. So it is clear that we are still far away, plus it seems that with the new compound our rivals have managed to improve even more. We have to try to understand why we have these grip problems in all conditions."
Do you think Michelin's new rear compound has had a bigger impact this year than it might seem from the outside?
"For us as Yamaha it hasn't changed much, but looking at the others ... they are much faster everywhere and we can't understand that."
Bezzecchi for example is having more difficulties with the GP23 this year and a lot is due to the tyres.
"I for my part can only bring my experience and feedback, but I'm not a genius or an engineer, the most I can do is give as much data to Yamaha and what I see from the other riders.This weekend I had the chance to follow some of them and the difference is glaring. This is interesting and certainly in the near future having four bikes will help a lot."
How physically demanding is Assen compared to Mugello?
"Much less, but I expected it to be worse. I suffered a little bit it is clear, but it didn't affect my result, although I couldn't get a very good pace from the first laps. Yesterday's day was more challenging."
Were you surprised by Pecco's competitiveness this race weekend?
"It's incredible. In the last two races he has won both the Sprint and the long race, so he is clearly the man to beat. As soon as you start winning your confidence grows and you feel unbeatable. It's a feeling that all riders want to have and right now he has it. He will be competitive at this level many more times."
