Fabio Quartararo: Dovi says grip? First give me power...

While Andrea Dovizioso feels a lack of grip is the bike’s major handicap, Quartararo remains adamant that power is his biggest problem.

“No, I don’t agree, because I think if you ask every rider what he needs to be faster it’s grip! Because with more grip it’s clear you go faster,” Quartararo said. “But for me, with the way of riding the Yamaha, I think I have quite a lot of experience with that bike, it’s not grip; it’s power.

“It’s power clearly and if you ask me 20 times I will answer this way, because in Austin we lost half-a-second over the two straights. If you take out that half-second we would fight for the victory. And it was the same in Argentina.

“Some tracks even in second or third gear I ask for more power and we don’t have [any more], so this is also kind of acceleration but it all comes from the power. So for me it’s power that we miss… Pure power of the engine and also top end.

• MotoGP Portimao, Portugal - Free Practice (2) Results
• MotoGP Portimao, Portugal - Free Practice (1) Results
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“Of course we miss a lot of rear grip in the wet, that’s for sure. But in the dry it’s not so bad and if you check our riding style it’s much more like - I exaggerate - Moto3 style. Much more round lines. When you see all the other bikes they are doing much more a like a V in the turns and I think this is the biggest difference between our bike and the other bikes.

“[It feels like] it’s no grip because they turn, open the throttle, and the bike is straight. But when we are behind them we open with a lot of lean angle. And of course when you are on lean angle you spin and have no grip.

“But all the Yamaha riders ask for power. It’s true that Dovi also asks for grip, but for me the main problem is power. For me in the race what is missing is the opportunities to overake.

“What I agree [with Dovi about] is that [Yamaha] needs to be much more aggressive, they need to make bigger changes. But it’s not about the rear grip. It’s about the power.”

Top speed is something the Frenchman has been persistently calling for since last season, but despite the end of a two-year technical freeze the latest M1’s engine performance looks to have barely changed over the 2020/2021 design.

“I think it’s been a problem for many years for Yamaha but they have to find it,” said Quartararo, who was over 13km/h slower than the Ducati of Enea Bastianini through the COTA speed trap with only team-mate Franco Morbidelli slower in a straight line.

Unfortunately for Quartararo and Yamaha, the in-season freeze on engine design means extracting more power from the 2022 M1 will be exceptionally difficult, although further improvements in areas such as ride-height devices and aerodynamics could help mitigate the issue.

Dovizioso: I agree with Fabio, but…

While Quartararo was 18th and then 13th during the pair of wet practice sessions in Portimao, Dovizioso turned heads with third in the afternoon.

However, the RNF Yamaha rider played down the result, saying third position was “not the reality, because most of the riders started with a used tyre from the morning and all the Yamahas started with a new one”, before again explaining why he feels rear grip is the key issue handicapping the M1.

“Fabio in this moment is the only rider who is able to be fast with Yamaha with no grip on the rear,” Dovizioso said.

“So it's normal [Quartararo says power is more important], because if you give him a bit more power, he can be a bit faster on the straight, because in the corners he is already so fast.

"So I agree with him, but his way to ride, in my opinion, is a bit unique.

“That's why I'm explaining and I'm pushing a lot for the grip, because in my opinion, 90% of the riders with Yamaha need more grip, and this is the biggest limit.

“It’s the strange thing of this bike, because how much we lose on the grip is huge. I can say that because in the last two years I rode two different bikes [Ducati and Aprilia]. That's why I'm pushing for that.

“So Fabio is not saying wrong things, just he doesn't know about the grip, because he hasn't tried [other bikes]. But this is normal. If I were him, I would like more power, because he can be just a bit faster with more power.”

Quartararo is currently fifth in the world championship with one podium. The next best Yamaha rider, team-mate Franco Morbidelli, is 15th.