The recent Italian Grand Prix was disastrous for Yamaha, which had also carried out a test at Mugello shortly before and which imagined it would be more competitive. He will return to the track next week for a test in Valencia, looking for new improvements on the M1. What happened in Tuscany does not affect the Iwata team’s belief that they can get closer to Ducati over time. How much time? This remains a big unknown.
As is known, the Iwata company is making many changes in recent months and for this reason too it is necessary to have a little patience before seeing important results on the track. One of the most significant innovations is the hiring of Massimo Bartolini from Ducati, who has become the new technical director and therefore a key figure in the project.
MotoGP, Bartolini and “European-style” development
Interviewed by colleagues from Speedweek, he spoke about the moves to be made to reduce the gap to the top of the class: “We need to accelerate development and we have already started to do so. The distance from Japan exists, but it is not a reason not to be quick. I spend about a week a month there and we work very closely“.
It was fundamental to have changed the mentality within the factory and the garage, moving closer to that of European manufacturers and abandoning the too conservative one adopted in the past: “During the era of Japanese rule – explains the Italian engineer – there was always a technical specification for the season and a development phase. Europeans work totally differently. Once a part has been improved, then they immediately review it with the idea of constantly improving it. Today development works like this in MotoGP for successful brands. They also understood this at Yamaha.” Having understood the need to change their way of thinking was an important step for the Japanese. Development must be continuousotherwise you risk falling too far behind.
Testing and customer teams
Bartolini was also asked about the importance of testing, which Yamaha can do to a greater extent thanks to the new MotoGP concessions: “A well-functioning test facility is not the most important thing, but it is very important. The faster and more effectively innovations can be tested, the better. Here too we have some ground to make up“.
For the Iwata company it would be essential to be able to equip itself with a satellite team and in recent days the possibility of signing an agreement with Pramac Racing seems increasingly concrete. The Yamaha technical director spoke about the topic like this: “Having a customer team it is an important element to support development. If we have him next season, it would be very useful to the project. Today I don’t know if it will happen, because a lot will depend on Ducati’s decisions. Yamaha still has a chance, the game isn’t over yet“.
Yamaha-Pramac: will the wedding happen?
According to the information we have, Paolo Campinoti’s team will most likely leave Ducati to start a new project with Yamaha. Surely the divorce with Ducati would be something sensational, because the partnership has lasted for many years and has produced high-level results.
Having lost the chance of having Marc Marquez, who said no to the Tuscan team and then signed with the official Ducati team, a change in brand seems increasingly possible. The Iwata manufacturer made a super offer to Campinoti, who has an option that expires at the end of July to be able to renew with Borgo Panigale. He will make a final decision soon. Certainly, switching to Yamaha could involve risks because today the M1 is a bike very far from the Desmosedici in terms of competitiveness. We will see.
Photo: MotoGP
