In a stunning turnaround, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo took pole position and second in Sunday’s race at Jerez two weeks ago. The podium position was the first for Yamaha since the Indonesian GP in 2023. A long drought.
Quartararo’s success at Jerez resulted from at least two factors, including improvements in the Yamaha MotoGP bike and the relatively tight layout at Jerez that did not play to Ducati’s strength nearly as much as higher speed circuits.
Immediately after the round, Yamaha and other manufacturers held a test day at the same circuit. Yamaha handed its riders a revised engine that pleased them not only with increased horsepower but also with the quality of the power delivery. Quartararo was nearly matched by teammate Álex Rins at the test, and both of them were very quick.
This weekend’s race at Le Mans is the home race for Frenchman Quartararo. This is another venue that seems to complement Yamaha’s strength, so all of the Yamaha riders are looking forward to the event.
Yamaha rider Jack Miller is a former winner at Le Mans, and he has made setting changes recently that have improved his feel on the M1.
We are in the midst of complete Ducati domination of the MotoGP race series, so many observers are excited that another contender will emerge. If you recall the days when Quartararo frequently earned pole position and then took the lead in the race and disappeared from his competitors (now, three years ago), his performance at Jerez was a reminder that he is still one of the most talented riders in the field. Next weekend will be interesting.
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I think MotoGP needs this right now because the series becoming MotoDucati stinks and reduces the appeal.
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euro-centric organizers want motoeuro (like before King Kenny showed up) and THAT is what stinks and reduces the appeal.
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I would suggest that the four stroke rule made the series so expensive that it killed AMA and WSB. Now you have a pay to win series. The Europeans will pay. So they will continue to win. And for what? Road racing became so much less popular overall that it killed the sport bike market. Only Ducati and Aprilia still have a number of sport bike models. They still have skin in the game. So they lay down the frog skins and they win the game.
I don’t think Le Mans is tight enough for Yamaha to shine. Ducati 1 2 3 and Aprilia in forth.
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Motor racing has always been pay-to-win. The 4-stroke rule did no such thing. Before this the only way for a non-factory team to get on the grid was to pay Honda $1M/yr per bike for a leased NSR500 from the prior year, not including suspension, brakes, or wheels.
The cost of electronics development was the last thing that strained the class to the breaking point, reducing the grid to fewer than 12 bikes at times. Thankfully, Dorna made the save against Honda’s (the biggest spender at that time)
threat of departure and implemented the spec ECU rule.
I don’t think anybody really cares about the bikes/brands that much. We just want to watch good racing, with more than 2-3 riders on the grid with a chance to win, which we’ve had the past 7-8 years now.
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Oh please. Before the four stroke rule Kenny Robert’s had a team that he built bespoke bikes for. They didn’t do that well. But he could afford to be there. The four stroke rule that killed that along with AMA and WSB in two years.
Apparently you like the TV show that you heve to buy. Good for you. But really, doesn’t having to buy a TV show to watch motorcycle racing strike you as odd? Isn’t there something wrong with the way that works?
Maybe I don’t care and I haven’t looked into ripping these races off. But apparently it’s not that easy. If I cared I would figure it out and post rip off instructions. But, whatever, you’re on your own.
Nonsense. KR had oil giant Petronas supporting his effort. “He” wasn’t affording anything and further, he wasn’t building anything that would’ve been more or less expensive with a supplied 2T or 4T engine. This is how Moto 2 bikes have been made since that class began, with chassis designed for the class from Kalex, Suter, and others.
Whether or not you have to buy a subscription to watch the racing has nothing to do with how expensive or cheap it is to race. AMA supercross is accessed by subscription streaming platforms and their dirt-cheap to race compared to say, F1, which is publicly available. We’re talking about the US here, and we’re just not a big enough audience for advertising to pay for the air time. That’s not on the racing (which is better and more competitive than it has ever been in its history..), that’s on US.