Yamaha pinpoint problem for Fabio Quartararo they must desperately avoid

Yamaha have noticed a potential problem for Fabio Quartararo that they must avoid.

Technical director Max Bartolini is a key cog in Yamaha’s plans to rise back to the top of MotoGP.

Their testing programme has benefitted from the arrival of Bartolini, the new concessions rules which allow them more scope than their rivals, and the addition of the Pramac satellite team and its two riders.

However, Bartolini insists that too much focus on testing for the future can hamper the immediate progress of factory rider Quartararo.

Yamaha avoid issue for Fabio Quartararo

"Basically, it's an advantage to test a lot if we see it purely from the development stage – that's an advantage of our concessions,” Bartolini told Speedweek.

“At the same time, however, it's not always very easy to test with the works riders.

"At least during the season, it's sometimes a conflict and not as easy as you imagine.

“The fact is: A tester is a tester and a racer is a racer. If we only set pure test tasks during the year during the tests, then it slows down the factory riders.

“It is not possible to do a double job 100 percent. We always have to let them drive freely and work on their setting and their speed.

“It's easier in the winter tests. But tests during the season slow down the development process.

“Theoretically, we can test a lot, but in practice we can't use everything for testing purposes."

Most notable among Yamaha’s ongoing test projects is the V4 engine.

When it will be used in a MotoGP race weekend for the first time remains shrouded in doubt.

Yamaha will indeed bring a new engine to next weekend’s French MotoGP at Le Mans - but it will be an updated version of their current inline-4.

Quartararo has hailed this upgrade as “more powerful” after testing it on Monday in Jerez.

Quartararo soared to pole position and then the podium at the Spanish MotoGP last weekend.

It was the latest huge hurdle for the Japanese manufacturer to overcome in their pursuit of returning to the top.

Yamaha have caught the eye all year with their steady progress, and Quartararo’s stunning efforts in Jerez were a reminder of what might be possible.

He will return home to France next week equipped with an even better engine to hopefully trouble the front-runners again.