Fabio Quartararo offers sobering early verdict on Yamaha V4
Fabio Quartararo said the V4 Yamaha felt "worse" than the Inline bike after Session 1 at the Misano MotoGP test.
Fabio Quartararo offered a sobering assessment of Yamaha’s long-awaited V4 prototype after his first proper runs on the machine at Misano.
The 2021 world champion had a first outing during a rain-affected private test in Barcelona last week, but Monday’s post-race Misano test marked his first serious opportunity to evaluate the current level of the bike.
Quartararo took over a prototype that Augusto Fernandez rode to 14th as a wild-card in Sunday’s San Marino MotoGP.
Fernandez began the weekend strongly, within 1.2s of the top on Friday, before a lack of set-up data and other performance issues hampered his races.
Despite persistent fuel warnings, the Spaniard set a best grand prix lap 1.5s slower than race winner Marc Marquez and was less than a second off Quartararo, quickest of those on the current Inline M1.
That looked to put Quartararo’s previous V4 lap time target within reach: “If I try it and I'm less than half a second off my [Inline] lap time, I think it's a good step,” the Frenchman had said in Hungary.
"Right now, the new bike is worse"
Quartararo finished the morning session at Misano with a best time of 1m 31.781s, putting him 18th on the timesheets, 1.067s from Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati).
That time was slightly faster than Quartararo’s best race lap on the way to eighth in the grand prix, but well below his head-turning 1m 30.228s front row qualifying lap.
At lunchtime, Quartararo sounded unimpressed when quizzed on the V4, which will next be seen in grand prix action during a wild-card with Fernandez at Sepang in October.
"There's work to be done, too early to say if it's a good base," Quartararo told Sky Italia.
He added: "Right now, the new bike is worse than the Inline4.
"I noticed improvements [from the V4 vs the Inline4] in Barcelona that I haven't felt here.
“I don't think the V4 engine will solve our problems; I found them identical.
“So far, I don't see any progress in the areas we need, although there's room for improvement."
Quartararo is expected to continue riding the V4 in the afternoon session.
Jack Miller and Alex Rins rode Fernandez’s other V4 machine, the Pramac rider starting the day on the prototype before handing over to Rins.
Miller, 21st and +0.9s from Quartararo, was more complimentary of the bike’s current level. Rins is yet to give his feedback.
Session 2 ends at 6pm.
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