European GP – European GP FP3 tests: Zarco ahead in the wet, Yamaha accused of cheating –

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European GP FP3 tests: Zarco ahead in the wet, Yamaha accused of cheating

European GP - European GP FP3 tests: Zarco ahead in the wet, Yamaha accused of cheating -

Joahnn Zarco is ramping up ahead of qualifying for the 2020 European GP on the again wet track of Valencia (Spain). The French is followed by Maverick Viñales, forced to start from the pit lane following his use of a new Yamaha engine, at the heart of a serious controversy.. Explanations, report and rankings.

The MotoGP riders entered the track again this Saturday morning for free practice 3 on wet tires and on a tarmac wet by a morning downpour. Stefan Bradl on the official Honda, then Miguel Oliveira on the KTM Tech3 were first evidenced in these cool conditions (90% humidity and 16 ° C in air).

  • European GP:
  • MNC special file : 

The fastest driver on Friday, Jack Miller, for his part, remained in his box the entire session with the certainty that no improvement would be possible compared to his FP2 reference of 1’32.528 which in fact ensures him automatic access to qualifying. QP2. Good intuition: the still tricky track only allowed him to approach about eight seconds of his stopwatch.

And it was Johann Zarco who set the best time in 1’40.007 on his Ducati Avintia, with which the Cannes driver gained strength as the laps went. Untouchable on drying trajectories, the n ° 5 relegates his first pursuer to 0.736 sec, but that is not enough to open the doors of the QP2 since he remains at a distant 17th position in the combined three sessions..

Same observation for Maverick Viñales who follows him during these FP3: the Spaniard appears in 11th place in the combined, which sends him to QP1 where he will try to be drafted for qualifying 2 with Cal Crutchlow, Miguel Oliveira, Stefan Bradl , Alex Marquez or Valentino Rossi.

  • MNC of 6 November 2020 : 

The Italian, back on the handlebars after his two negative PCR tests for Covid-19, suffers from his absence yesterday afternoon when the conditions allowed better times: the "Doctor" signs the 8th time of this session, but does not appears only at the 21st and last place in the combined ranking. 

Conversely, Fabio Quartararo saves his place in qualifying 2 thanks to his good pace yesterday on almost dry conditions while he plunges again into the depths of the classification this morning in the wet: the Nice only records 19th time. of this third practice session, still in great difficulty on a wet track. 

Yamaha at the heart of controversy

This morning was also marked by a rather heavy atmosphere in the paddocks since the sanction received by Yamaha for having used non-compliant valves during the first race in Jerez (Spain). The manufacturer was penalized in the constructor classification as well as in the team classification, losing its leadership in these hierarchies.

  • MNC of 6 November 2020 :  

But, unsurprisingly, several riders expressed deep surprise or even deep dissatisfaction with the fact that the three Yamaha holders concerned by this non-regulatory engine at the Spanish GP – Quartararo winner, Viñales 2nd and Morbidelli 5th – were not sanctioned like the provides for settlement in this situation. 

European GP - European GP FP3 tests: Zarco ahead in the wet, Yamaha accused of cheating -

First to be publicly offended by this lack of sanctions against pilots: Marc Marquez, who quips on Twitter: "It now turns out that pilots do not benefit from mechanical advantages", launches the reigning champion, still recovering for his fractured humerus.

In the process, Andrea Dovizioso for his part expressed his incomprehension as to the fact that no manufacturer is filing a protest following the decision of the FIM not to sanction the Yamaha riders. "I do not understand, it is not logical that Ducati, Suzuki, Honda and the others agree that Yamaha is only penalized in the constructor classification, which is much less important than the driver classification".

Same story for Alex Rins, who annoys these recurring regulatory compromises but judges that "must do with": grumbling all the more justified as the Ducati and Suzuki rider would gain places in the provisional if the – big – points scored in Jerez by Quartararo (2nd in the standings), Viñales (3rd) and Morbidelli (4th) had been taken away from them !

"Yamaha cheated", accuses Alex Marquez

But the most uplifted is – surprisingly – Alex Marquez who accuses not only Yamaha of knowingly "cheating", but also its riders of having competed in this famous race knowingly as to the irregularity of the 4-cylinder valves. !

European GP - European GP FP3 tests: Zarco ahead in the wet, Yamaha accused of cheating -

“The regulations were not respected by Yamaha:“ they cheated, so this sanction in the constructor and team classifications does not seem fair to me, ”said the n ° 73 severely.“ This penalty in the constructor classification is a joke. : that nobody will remember it in two years because only the pilot title really counts ".

The Honda official, very dissatisfied with the indulgence of the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), also assures us that the pilots were perfectly aware of this fraud: "the excuse of" I did not know "does not hold: everything is very open within a factory team, the pilots have access to all the mechanical details ", he assures..

“Yamaha intervened on its engines because its pilots broke and lacked power,” bluntly accuses the future Honda-LCR pilot, for whom the Japanese manufacturer and its pilots have knowingly bypassed the regulations in the face of a structural problem with the 4-cylinder! A very serious accusation…

European GP - European GP FP3 tests: Zarco ahead in the wet, Yamaha accused of cheating -

The pilots of the brand immediately stepped up to ensure their ignorance of the facts, proclaiming their innocence in this dark story which constitutes a "dangerous precedent for MotoGP", judges for his part the sporting director of Ducati, Paolo Ciabatti.

"We accept this sanction attributed to Yamaha and we will not appeal, by mutual agreement with the other manufacturers," reveals Paolo Ciabatti. "But it’s a dangerous precedent because the drivers, even if they weren’t aware of it, did race with a non-compliant engine and also scored a lot of points in this race".

Departure from the pit lane for Viñales and Covid-19 at Yamaha !

Yamaha, for its part, remains on its line of defense "from an internal error" by explaining that it has used two suppliers for its valves but has only actually approved those manufactured by one of its subcontractors.. 

European GP - European GP FP3 tests: Zarco ahead in the wet, Yamaha accused of cheating -

It is therefore an offense to use the valves from the other supplier in Jerez, because they were not approved before the engines were sealed at the start of the season. It’s hard to imagine that Yamaha’s racing department was not aware of this regulatory obligation, especially for an aspect as essential as the engine….

Especially since it turns out that the M1 engine suffers from problems at this level: Rossi and Morbidelli broke a block each, while an engine from Viñales was sent back to Japan during the first tests of the opening race. . The following blocks were then clamped to ensure their resistance.

Direct consequence for the Spanish: his team was forced to fit a new engine yesterday afternoon – his 6th this season – which earned him a penalty with a pit lane departure.

Yamaha, decidedly unvarnished, must also face a mini-outbreak of Covid-19 in its ranks with a member of the Viñales team tested positive for the coronavirus yesterday Friday! Four other members of the team, including its director Massimo Meregalli, were therefore placed in solitary confinement..

MotoGP free practice 3 results of the 2020 European GP

European GP - European GP FP3 tests: Zarco ahead in the wet, Yamaha accused of cheating -

Combined classification of MotoGP free practice of the 2020 European GP

European GP - European GP FP3 tests: Zarco ahead in the wet, Yamaha accused of cheating -

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