Fabio Quartararo finished 6th in Sepang testing this Friday. The Frenchman qualified directly for Q2 despite a problem with the new engine brought by Yamaha, which he will not be able to use this weekend. He is also the 2nd non-Ducati rider of the day!
Changes that worked: “We changed a lot of the electronics of the bike. We've been talking about it for a few races but they never wanted to make me start with such different electronics. It's good that we tried today, it's better. We still need to improve but there is good potential, especially for a time attack (time lap, Editor’s note). »
The concrete effects: “Less assistance, a lot more control, trying to put more direct power to my wrist, trying to manage more on my own. We have to change a lot of things on traction control, anti-wheeling… It's a big change. We try to do it like that because in the end, the electronics take away your power, so try to have the most in hand to be the most efficient. »
The advantage of the Ducati in braking (engine braking in particular): “We are working on it too. Afterwards we know that we lack grip, we have other concerns, but there are plenty of things. There isn't one thing that will save us half a second: it's half a tenth, half a tenth… to reduce the gap. Many things need to be improved. I think the new engine is more efficient, too bad we had this problem. »
The new engine will have to wait: “We had a problem with the engine so we won't use it anymore until the (2025 pre-season) test. This is a problem that should not have happened, we did not understand why we had this problem. It's a shame because on top speed, we saw that there was a little something extra. Too bad because it was quite good. »
The rest of the weekend: “On a lap or even on the pace it’s always good. Afterwards, in the race, we know that with this lack of power, we have to manage completely differently, we know that we have to close the doors in the first laps otherwise we will be overtaken. It's complicated to think about the result in the race, but in some sessions we manage to ride alone, to set our own pace… I have never won a race starting from far away and fighting, except in Qatar in 2021 We'll see what we can do. »
