Quartararo gets his wish as top speed ‘better’, but has it come at a cost?

After testing various new parts throughout the day, some of which were chassis, aerodynamics and engine related, the 2021 MotoGP champion has come away from the opening day of pre-season testing happy with his and Yamaha’s work.

The top speed improvements shown by Cal Crutchlow during the Shakedown test were backed up by Quartararo as he posted a top speed of 334.3km/h which was just two kilometres down on what Enea Bastianini managed.

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However, the Yamaha rider was only 11th when it came to the quickest lap times after finishing nine tenths off Marco Bezzecchi.

But unlike the Ducati rider, Quartararo did not attempt a fast lap as he instead went through the busiest test day of his career. 

“Today was not an easy day because in the end we had to test many things,” added Quartararo. “We don’t have a lot of tyres for the test so today we had to use the tyres that we didn’t really want. 

“It was not easy, especially after three months without riding but I’m feeling pretty happy. 

“The top speed has improved and now we have to look at the chassis, aerodynamics and throttle response of the engine which is something I was struggling a little bit with today. But I will say that it was a positive day.” 

While better top speed continues to be a positive sign for the Japanese manufacturer, Yamaha’s improvements may have affected the traditional strengths of the M1, which is cornering performance.

Speaking about getting the balance between both areas right, Quartararo said: "Yeah that is positive because in the past year we were also struggling with the chassis but especially on top speed. 

"Now top speed is a little bit better but now we are struggling a little bit more in the corners. We have two more days here and two days in Portimao. 

"Like I said I tried so many things today which meant we didn’t focus on which was the best bike. 

"We didn’t really focus on making the best lap but top speed is something that is really important and we made a big step."

Having had smaller parts to test in previous years, Quartararo was certainly put through his paces after three months away from riding a MotoGP bike.

No two runs were the same for Quartararo as finding a clear answer on the character of the chassis, aerodynamics and engine response were all targeted.

Quartararo said: "It was a day where we tried many things but we couldn’t really see if it was better or not. We tried a new chassis and the response was pretty clear. The engine response was also pretty clear and the aerodynamics. 

"It’s something that at the end; it’s the first time in my career that I make a test [day like this]. Basically, the previous years we tried a swingarm, some settings, but today in one day I tried more than in a full test. It was a little bit of a mess but it was good for the experience."