Yamaha recruit two major Ducati engineers in a bid to keep Fabio Quartararo
Massimo Bartolini has left his job as Vehicle Performance Engineer at Ducati to become Yamaha’s new technical director.
This follows Marco Nicotra, who left Ducati to become Yamaha’s Head of Aerodynamics in October.
The signing of Bartolini represents a major step forward for Yamaha who struggled badly in 2023.
He was a close confidant of Ducati supremo Gigi Dall’Igna and Yamaha hope his expertise can give them a major boost.
It is still unclear, however, whether Bartolini will replace Kazutoshi Seki, who led the M1 project last year, Gazzetta report, or work alongside him.
Bartolini also represents a more European-centric structure to Yamaha’s 2024 plans.
These behind-the-scenes changes are with a view to keeping star rider Quartararo.
2021 MotoGP champion Quartararo’s contract with Yamaha expires at the end of this season and the Japanese manufacturer knows he will leave unless they deliver a bike that is more competitive than last year.
Yamaha are the only manufacturer to have just two bikes on the 2024 grid, however they will benefit from the new concessions regulations.
The arrival of two brains from Ducati could help them kick on even more.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
