Yamaha team director Massimo Meregalli says that the MotoGP post-season test in Barcelona went “better than expected” for the team.
The Japanese manufacturer brought an updated version of the M1 to the test and trialed newly upgraded chassis, aerodynamics and engines in Barcelona.
The result saw Fabio Quartararo set the second fastest time in testing, four tenths off of the best time of the day set by Alex Marquez on the GP24.
Alex Rins also had a positive showing in the test, finishing the day in eighth, while satellite Pramac riders Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira also gave the Japanese manufacturer more data to analyse throughout the winter.
Team director Meregalli said that all three items Yamaha brought to the test gave “positive feedback” and that its expectations had been exceeded.
“The three items that we mainly evaluated were chassis, aerodynamics and a slightly updated engine, all these three items gave us positive feedback,” Meregalli told MotoGP’s official website.
“But before really judging anything, we prefer to wait until Sepang because you can’t really judge single items in one circuit, it’s better to at least double check.
“All the steps we did in this direction brought us a good feeling but also results.
“This is very important because many times in the past we always listened to the feelings of the riders but now we want to match the feeling with the results.
“I can say that the test finished better than our expectations. For me it’s a good way to finish such a long and tough season.”
Fabio Quartararo: ‘Yamaha heading in the right direction’ after MotoGP test
2021 World champion Quartararo also sounded optimistic following the conclusion of testing in Barcelona.
The Frenchman finished the final MotoGP session of 2024 in second and admits that the team is “heading in the right direction.”
“I think it was a good day. We tried out quite a few things, and without really doing a time attack we set a better time than in qualifying,” Quartararo said via Autosport.
“We set the fastest time with the new chassis and the new engine, so that was positive, and without really starting with 3kg of fuel – I think we started with 8-9kg.
“Of course I was at the limit, but we could have made up a few more hundredths or tenths to go a bit quicker.”
The former world champion continued: “The new engine already gave us a bit more speed, with the same agility, the steering with the new chassis was also good,”
“We also tried a new fairing to maybe have a bit more top speed but it wasn’t any better, it was the same. We tried some pretty interesting things.
“I think we’re heading in the right direction and the biggest things that were supposed to happen will happen in Malaysia, that’s what was planned. So the direction is good and I hope it can help for the future.
“I don’t think there were any real improvements on the corner exit, which is where I think we need to improve,” he said. “With the new chassis, we’ve improved the corner entry a little bit, but what we’re lacking is a bit on the exit.”
He also added: “Power and grip is the only thing I can ask for. In terms of grip we are really, really far.
“And [as for the] the power, Santa Claus already came earlier to give us a bit of extra [power] but I will ask even more because we know we miss it.”
