“Ducati secrets” theory is a blessing for Fabio Quartararo and Jorge Martin

Fabio Quartararo will benefit from “secrets” straight from the inner sanctum of Ducati, it has been suggested.

The Yamaha rider shone last weekend at the Spanish MotoGP, earning pole position then a podium grand prix finish.

It represented a massive landmark weekend for Yamaha, who have struggled badly since Quartararo’s 2021 MotoGP title.

Since then, Ducati have dominated the sport but Yamaha’s acquisition of Max Bartolini from their Italian rivals, to become their new technical director, is widely heralded as a turning point.

Bartolini’s reaction to Quartararo’s brilliant ride was spotted in Jerez.

“[Quartararo] had the pressure, he had a two-second gap over Pecco Bagnaia, but he didn’t flinch at all,” TNT Sports’ Michael Laverty noted.

“I saw an interesting moment. Fabiano Sterlacchini came out of the Aprilia garage, he defected to Aprilia, and Max Bartolini defected to Yamaha.

“They had a moment, they embraced.

“Those secrets from Ducati have filtered down to Yamaha, they will gradually filter to Aprilia.

“It’s game on! It’s so nice to see Yamaha able to fight. There is more to come.”

Aprilia could follow Yamaha’s lead and become beneficiaries of Ducati’s ways.

Their technical director Sterlacchini is also a veteran of Ducati, before a short stint with KTM.

Improvements he may be able to make will be music to the ears of Jorge Martin, the injured MotoGP champion who was Aprilia’s star signing this year.

Fabio Quartararo ‘making the difference’

Quartararo has been widely praised for his excellent podium in Jerez, after battling Bagnaia and Marc Marquez in the early stages.

He even attracted praise from Bagnaia who conceded the Yamaha was slower than his Ducati.

Next weekend in Le Mans, Quartararo will bring an intrigue upgrade back into MotoGP action in his home country.

Although the V4 engine is being developed in the background, Yamaha used the recent test to update their existing inline-4.

Quartararo has warned rivals it is more powerful than the engine he used to soar into P2 in Jerez.

“What’s making the difference? It’s the rider,” Neil Hodgson said after the Spanish MotoGP.

“The next Yamaha rider is 19.5 seconds behind him.

“That was a rider riding on the absolute limit.”