Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha/7th place): “A lot of little problems” / MotoGP

It was already evident in the training sessions: the Yamaha is coping better with the difficult Portimão track than with the test and race tracks of the past weeks and months. The clear evidence of this is the direct entry of both M1 pilots. Former world champion Quartararo and Yamaha newcomer Alex Rins were cautiously optimistic both in terms of time attacks and race distance.

After two races in the Algarve, a somewhat distorted picture of the real situation emerges, with the results lists providing only partial information about the competitiveness of Yamaha's only two bikes.

During yesterday's race, Fabio Quartararo showed very good pace but was only modestly rewarded. Despite the short distance to the winner (7.5 seconds), the Frenchman ended up in ninth place.

24 hours later, seventh place in the Grand Prix signaled improvement. With a good 20 seconds behind Jorge Martin, the opposite was the case. Like many other drivers, Quartararo also benefited from a triple failure at the front shortly before the finish.

At the debrief, El Diablo was not very happy with how the race went and asserted: “Seventh seems better than it is now. Honestly, I was hoping for more. A lot of things went well in the sprint yesterday and I saw myself getting closer to the guys in front of me.” “Today. That's why I'm not very happy with the big difference.”

However, Quartararo, which has been undervalued for a long time, does not see any significant weakness. “The truth is, I believe, that we face not one big problem, but many small problems. It's a little bit of everything. The rear grip, the electronics, the aerodynamics, it's a combination of several things. We have collected good data today and further testing will help us. “Of course, there is also a problem as we only have two bikes in the field,” said the Yamaha factory driver.

When asked about the subject of a possible second Yamaha team for the 2025 season, the 2021 champion disagreed. “It's true that we talked about a second team. But I can't say more about that at the moment.”

While the trucks from the European manufacturers have left the track, Yamaha will use the day after the race to conduct further testing. It is possible to perform additional tests through the privilege list with extensive privileges. Honda, also eligible, did not join the testing.