2018 Japanese GP: Yamaha still far from the mark…
With Rossi 4th, Zarco 6th, Viñales 7th and Syahrin 10th, the Japanese GP is not a disaster for Yamaha. But it is clear that contrary to the expectations of the pilots, the progress of the GP of Thailand will not have been enough to go up the slope… Debriefing.
By placing four riders – including two private and a rookie – in the top 10 of the Japanese GP, Yamaha can certainly be delighted to have collected points in the championship and note with satisfaction that "perseverance has paid off".
- Japanese GP 2018 :
- MNC special file :
A little more analysis shows, however, that not only the progress seen at the GP of Thailand could not be replicated in Japan, but that Yamaha still does not seem to know which direction to take for the last three races of the season….
The disappointment is all the more keen as even if Rossi was more circumspect, even assuring when arriving in Japan that the motorcycles had progressed…
Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Movistar (9th in qualifying, 4th in race) : "The fourth place is not such a bad result", consoles the n ° 46. "I think we worked well today because this morning we made a further improvement and I felt good on the bike. So I started the race feeling pretty optimistic, with the hope of fighting for the podium. Unfortunately other riders were faster than me. I tried not to give up, not to make mistakes and to arrive at the end of the race with a good pace ".
Johann Zarco, Yamaha Tech3 (2nd in qualifying, 6th in race) : "It was a good race, I really gave everything in view of the potential of the bike and the energy I could provide", assures the French rider. "It’s a shame because I got off to a good start (despite Miller’s trajectory problem, editor’s note), but in the first four corners I lost a lot of positions. I couldn’t go where I wanted to go, c ‘was too difficult and the first ten laps were perhaps the most difficult ".
"There are still some things missing"
"Later, in the second half of the race, I had a good pace and I felt more comfortable on the bike," Johann continues. "Not enough to catch up with the first group, but enough to be fast. I saw Iannone and Dovizioso falls and also saw Rossi forcing to be fast. So I tried to prepare myself to pass him. , trying to fight with him in the last lap. Unfortunately Bautista also came back after his bad start. When he passed me towards the end I totally lost contact with Valentino and I couldn’t finish in fourth position".
"Anyway, I can be satisfied", concludes. "It was a decent weekend, I felt pretty good on the bike, although I have the feeling that there are still some things missing. About the championship a lot is moving. Cal Crutchlow had a great race and his 20 points are very important in our fight for the best independent pilot "…
Maverick Viñales, Yamaha Movistar (7th in qualifying, 7th in race) : "We made a lot of adjustments on the bike but we didn’t manage to be fast in the race today", regrets the young Spaniard. "We tried something different before the start, but it didn’t really work out"…
"We followed the same direction as in Buriram to see if it could work, but in the end it was not", regrets the n ° 25. “I couldn’t ride the way I wanted so we just have to keep working, try to stay focused on how to handle the weekend and stay strong. We will still try to do our best at Phillip Island and we will try. to see where we are ".
"Yamaha couldn’t fight with the front group"
Site analysis : Certainly, Rossi finished fourth (his best performance since his) and consolidates his third place in the provisional, with now an option on the second occupied by Andrea Dovizioso (+9 points).
But the Doctor, perfectly lucid, knows well that fourth, "it is still not enough", as he noted himself after the race of Buriram. Especially with the falls of Dovizioso and Iannone placed in front of him … not to mention the absence of Lorenzo !
In the race, the top 10 riders turned in 1’46 during the first five laps, with accelerations in 1’45 for the two Suzuki riders (Alex Rins in the 4th lap, Andrea Iannone in the 5th). But from the sixth lap, when leaders Dovizioso, Crutchlow and Marquez put the gas down to 1’45, no Yam ‘rider managed to keep up the pace..
The examination of the gaps at the finish is final and shows that Yamaha has not returned to its level of the GP of Thailand: while at Buriram, Maverick Viñales (3rd) had crossed the line 0.2 seconds from Marc Marquez (winner), Valentino Rossi (4th) at 1.5 seconds and Johann Zarco (5th) at 2.7 seconds, yesterday in Japan Rossi (4th) was 6.4 seconds behind the winner (yes, still Marquez), Zarco (6th) at 8 seconds and Viñales (7th) at more than 13 seconds…
"No one in the Yamaha camp could fight with the leading group", admits for his part Herve Poncharal, team manager of Tech3, while welcoming the results of his riders Johann Zarco (6th) and Hafizh Syahrin (10th).
As for Massimo Meregalli, director of the official Yamaha team, he does not hide that he would have hoped to "finish differently" the GP of Japan … "For Maverick, we decided at the last minute to take a risk on the setting which in the end it didn’t work out, but Vale and Maverick remain strong contenders for second and third place in the drivers’ standings, so we’ll have to fight hard next weekend in Australia. ".
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