Yamaha’s Mugello MotoGP speed deficit had one rider ‘screaming in my helmet’

Alex Rins says he was “screaming in my helmet” when a Honda eased past him during practice at the MotoGP Italian Grand Prix, as Yamaha’s top speed woes were laid bare.

Mugello’s massive main straight has exposed the top speed deficit Yamaha holds compared to its MotoGP rivals with its new V4 engine.

Fabio Quartararo was over 12km/h down on Enea Bastianini’s KTM on Friday at the Italian Grand Prix, while Alex Rins was just over 10km/h slower through the speed trap.

Rins scraped into a direct Q2 spot on Friday, ending the day ninth with a 1m45.149s lap, but admits he struggled to profit from a slipstream on his Yamaha.

‘I was pushing like hell’

“I couldn't arrive to the slipstream,” he said when asked if that helped his lap time.

“I mean, on the first laps of practice, I just go out [as] first rider, exiting the pits, and then Pecco [Bagnaia] and [Marco] Bezzecchi overtook me.

“It looks like they were racing, and I said, ‘OK, let's see what I can do behind them. I was like with the eyes wide [open].

“I was pushing like hell, like a time attack. And I was quite surprised by the lap time, the 1m45.7s.

“Then I enter in box. I just say, I just express our weak points to the guys.

“We tried to improve a little bit the cornering of our bike because I was going wide in every corner. And OK, the pace was not so bad. It was like 0.5, 0.7, compared to them.

“And then on the time attack, regarding your question of the slipstream, they go really fast.

“I couldn't. I couldn’t… OK, I take a bit of slipstream, but I could not be in a proper slipstream in the end of the lap.”

Rins had Honda’s Diogo Moreira behind him at one stage on a flying lap, but was unable to keep him behind due to the RC213V’s speed differential.

“We were racing like hell,” Rins added.

“Fucking Diogo. It's funny. I just let pass Pecco and Marc [Marquez] before the red flag.

“And then he had more engine. He overtook me on the straight. And I was like screaming in the helmet, ‘No, no, why? Stay behind!’ But yeah, it was quite funny.”

Rins was the standout Yamaha performer on Friday at Mugello, with the next-best M1 Jack Miller in 16th, while Quartararo was 17th after a crash.

Despite his strong start to the weekend, Rins acknowledges how hard it will be to maintain that form in the races.

“It's difficult,” he said.

“Maybe it's too early. It's too early to express the points where we can improve. Because honestly, I was quite on the limit in every corner.

“Maybe there are some tracks that we are able to go a little bit faster.

“Like, for example, here, I was able to jump to Q2. In Barcelona, Miller and Fabio, they were able to jump in Q2.

“In Texas, Toprak, he was able to go in. I mean, guys, we are like super professional, super talented riders.

“So thanks to this, we are able maybe to find one lap. But then in the race pace, it is what it is. In a 40-minute race, everything is tougher, the tyre gets hot, there’s the drop [of the tyre].”