The voices of Yamaha before the European kick-off

The season opener could hardly have been much more different for the brand with the crossed tuning forks in the logo. At the edge of the desert, the two factory drivers fully met the expectations of the team and the public and shared the first two Grand Prix victories fraternally. On the other hand, the season opener turned out to be an absolute disaster for the most successful private team of 2020.
Razlan Razali – PETRONAS Yamaha SRT, Team principal: “To be honest, I am very happy that we finished those first two MotoGP races in Qatar as we can now focus on analyzing what happened and being prepared for Portimão. It is what it is and hopefully we can do better there, “especially since it was a pretty good race for us with Franco’s podium last year. “

Our photo from the Autodromo do Algarve near the coastal city of Portimão – the conditions here at the start of Europe are expected to be between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius (according to the current forecast for the weekend of April 18, but at least it should be sunny) than in Losail. The art of the teams will be to get the tires to work well and to find the right mixture for the race.

The Yamaha drivers after the first double race of the season

With the voices from Yamaha before the European kick-off, we give preference to age and start with Valentino Rossi before his team-mate and runner-up Morbido has his say. With Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales, the first two winners of the season follow and tied behind world championship leader Zarco (Pramac Ducati) his first pursuer in the hunt for the title of 2021.
Valentino Rossi – PETRONAS Yamahas SRT: “It was absolutely not a great result, and it is very difficult to start from the back as all bikes are strong. My pace wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t enough to stay in the group, especially on the first few laps. I was expecting a little more because the morning before the 2nd race we found something that will help me drive better. I thought I could stay with the group up front, but we didn’t have enough. In addition, I lacked a bit of grip with the soft rear tire. We tried a different swing arm and that helped a bit. There are a lot of European tracks where we know the grip is good. So hopefully we can expect better results. We’ll see what will happen in Portimão. “

Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) in pursuit of Stefan Bradl, Alex Marquez, Luca Marini and the two Tech 3 KTM. He got the two oranges and half-brother Luca on the Ducati under control, just like Takaaki Nakagami, despite starting from the penultimate place. But P16 is of course a bitter disappointment for the most successful MotoGP rider on the Losaili circuit.

Franco Morbidelli – PETRONAS Yamaha SRT: “It was a difficult start, but at least I was able to fight on the second weekend. We went back to a configuration we had in early 2020. The problems we had in race 2 were the same as at the beginning of last season when I used the tire too early. This seemed like the best setup for us at the moment to get a better feel on the bike. I think it worked because we have some positive aspects again from now on. I felt able to attack and my best lap time wasn’t bad, it was the same as the winner’s. However, I couldn’t be strong enough on the final laps because the tire problems and the battle for tenth place meant that I couldn’t reach the full potential that I had at the start of the race. We will now continue to work to understand what was going on in Qatar and to compete in Portugal new and hopefully stronger. “

Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) – the reigning vice world champion landed just like Rossi far behind his expectations and those of the team. But there have only been two races that do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the strength for the rest of the calendar. If you copy “Morbido” too early, you could commit a mistake.

Fabio Quartararo – Monster Energy Yamaha and winner of the second race in Losail: “I can hardly find words for the second Qatar weekend. This race win is different from the previous three MotoGP races I’ve won so far. After the last race I was a bit disappointed in myself. During this race it was completely different. I thought so well, I played a lot with the mapping and the tires. Nine or ten laps to the end, I thought: Now is the time to push our potential and show it to everyone. I was terrified when I hit rubble on the track. “(The editorial staff: a KTM had previously lost some plastic parts that were lying around in the middle of the piste)” I just thought: No flat tires, please! Because there was an ominous sound before it. My last lap didn’t feel as fast as the previous ones, but it was enough for the win. Singing the French anthem with Johann Zarco was the best moment I ever had. Now I’m looking forward to Europe and everything will be completely different here.“

Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) after his victory with an original selfie – the man from Nice is back and in this form, despite the bad result of the previous year in Portugal, he is one of the favorites for the race in mid-April.

Maverick Viñales – Monster Energy Yamaha and winner of the season opener in Losail: “Of course the race didn’t go as we expected, but I’m still very happy because in the end this is a positive result. I worked a lot with the tires at the beginning so that I could get stronger in the end. It paid off because I was very strong in the end, especially the rear grip was good. I just wish we had five more laps. We’ll try to come back stronger. I know we mainly have to improve a few areas in my driving style. The most important thing is that the bike has great potential, and we have shown that over the last ten laps. I tried to overtake every lap and get stronger. We tried it, and overall the second race was also a positive day. Even if the results didn’t show our real potential for the 2nd race in Qatar. Still, I think fifth place is a nice result and I fought back with everything I had. Now it is important for the next round to take that good feeling with you and to be at the front right from the start. I am confident. ”

The two Monster Energy Yamaha riders Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales in pursuit of the two Pramac Ducati riders Martin and Zarco behind the two Suzuki, factory Ducatis and Aleix Espargaró on the Aprlilia. In the end, a Yamaha won both races at Losail.

Result from the first Grand Prix of Portugal in November 2020

It was a very mixed picture and actually similar to the one in Losail recently, albeit with the opposite sign. At that time, Franco Morbidelli only missed second place by a very thin margin, which should give the Italian a lot of confidence for the next GP near Portimão. Just like Valentino Rossi, Maverick Viñales narrowly missed the top ten and only Fabio Quartararo was slightly behind. However, he had experienced his absolute low of the season in Valencia and has now come back to Europe with a lot of self-confidence. Because some drivers like Aleix Espargaró, Stefan Bradl and Miguel Oliveira knew the track much better than the rest of the field at the premiere last year, it was a very special situation. In any case, a completely different picture than in 2020 would hardly come as a surprise. Except for Marc Marquez and the rookies, everyone has now experienced a MotoGP weekend at the Autodromo do Algarve. The former is hardly to be expected before Jerez, because he only has his next doctor’s appointment a few days before the Portuguese GP.

The second race of Losail

World Championship stand after the Saion’s first double race in Qatar

Unless otherwise stated, this applies to all images (© MotoGP).