Quartararo: Aprilia, Honda, Suzuki made 'massive step'
Ducati were 'already super-fast' but Aprilia, Honda and Suzuki have made 'a massive step'.
That was the verdict of Yamaha's reigning MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo at the end of the season-opening Sepang test.
The Frenchman finished the rain interrupted two-days in Malaysia with the seventh fastest lap time (+0.182s) behind three Ducatis, two Aprilias and a Suzuki.
Aprilia, the only manufacturer on the current grid without a MotoGP win, was perhaps the biggest surprise.
After riding for part of the Shakedown, Aleix Espargaro and Quartararo's former team-mate Maverick Vinales stayed top of the timesheets on day one of the Official test, then took second and fifth respectively on day two.
"They have two riders riding super-fast," Quartararo said of Aprilia. "It’s true they made more days [here] but the bike is working super well.
"If you check top speed, it’s super-fast. I was behind Aleix for half a lap and the turning was a lot. I’m impressed by them. For me Aprilia, Honda and Suzuki made a massive step."
Quartararo added: "Ducati were already super-fast at the end of the season. But the three that impressed me more are [Aprilia, Honda and Suzuki].
"To be honest I don’t think we [Yamaha] made a step like that, by far. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t competitive. It just means the others made a bigger step than us.
"We are struggling in some areas. It's strange to see I was struggling more with new tyres. Normally the time attack is one of my favourite things and I knew I could improve a lot more. I know the others made a big step in that area."
Quartararo was the only Yamaha rider inside the top 20 on the final timesheet but expects new team-mate Franco Morbidelli (24th) to be much closer at the coming Mandalika test.
"You always want someone that pushes you to the limit," Quartararo said. "Franco is going to be fast in the short future. In Mandalika he will be much closer.
"In the first part of last season when Maverick was there, I learned from him. The first race in Qatar, I saw what he did and I pushed to apply what I missed.
"Then Assen was the first time we both pushed ourselves to the limits. Assen for me was the most interesting qualifying. Even if I finished second because I made a mistake, I never pushed myself that much to the limit.
"So I think it’s helping [to have other fast Yamahas] but I don’t need someone to push me to go fast."
Average lap info from day 2 at Sepang test. Wet lap times are not counted.
Suzuki, Ducati and Aprilia all looking strong again today.
KTM and Yamaha still make up the bottom half of the speed chart.
Aprilia have taken a significant step, I expect to see them on the podium in '22 just have to adapt to the lack of top speed once again and didn't sound too impressed by the other M1 developments."I tested a new chassis. I tested… I don’t even know what I tested. A chassis for sure. A set-up where we put the bike lower. And… that’s it! The day was not a really, really big day," Quartararo said.
"To be honest I expected much more from this test. But it’s like this. Let’s see. At Mandalika we can try more or less the same things as we have now. Just in a different track. Let’s see if there we can see more positives."
Quartararo had also criticised his own riding on day one, saying he had been a little rusty after the winter break and needed to use more corner speed. The 22-year-old was happier with his performance on day two.
"Straight away from the first lap I was riding more naturally. Super happy," he said. "Unfortunately, we kept two tyres for a time attack [at the end of Sunday, but rain arrived.
"I’m a bit sad because I wanted to go under the '58s. I thought it was possible. But happy because even with used tyres I was fast. This morning I made a '59.4 with 21 laps on the rear. In the afternoon a '59.7 with a lot of laps. On my natural riding I’m super happy."
The final MotoGP pre-season test, at the new Mandalika circuit in Indonesia, will take place this weekend.
2022 Sepang MotoGP Test - Day 2 Top Speeds Rider Bike Top Speed (km/h) 1 Johann Zarco Ducati 335.4 2 Enea Bastianini Ducati 335.4 3 Jack Miller Ducati 333.3 3 Maverick Vinales Aprilia 333.3 5 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati 332.3 6 Marc Marquez Honda 331.2 6 Marco Bezzecchi Ducati 331.2 8 Jorge Martin Ducati 331.2 8 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 331.2 10 Joan Mir Suzuki 331.2 10 Fabio di Giannantonio Ducati 331.2 10 Pol Espargaro Honda 330.2 10 Brad Binder KTM 330.2 10 Luca Marini Ducati 330.2 15 Alex Rins Suzuki 330.2 15 Alex Marquez Honda 329.2 17 Raul Fernandez KTM 328.2 18 Fabio Quartararo Yamaha 327.2 19 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha 327.2 19 Miguel Oliveira KTM 327.2 21 Takaaki Nakagami Honda 327.2 21 Remy Gardner KTM 326.2 23 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki 325.3 23 Andrea Dovizioso Yamaha 324.3 25 Darryn Binder Yamaha 323.3 25 Franco Morbidelli Yamaha 322.3
