At a time when MotoGP intends to gain even more momentum by opening its arms to Liberty Media, a few clouds, some worrying and others tenuous, have appeared in the sunny sky of the Grands Prix, but Éric de Seynes, who always has the attentive ear of the Yamaha board, was kind enough to express himself on the efforts undertaken by the firm with three tuning forks in recent times…
Among the downsides of MotoGP obviously comes first and foremost the financial situation of the group Pierer
Mobility AG which increasingly frequently fuels economic news in a negative way. But the departures of the technical director Albesian Roman and pilots Aleix Espargaro et Maverick Vinales of the team Aprilia Racing
also raise questions, as do the disappointing performances of the two historic manufacturers that are Honda et
Yamaha cannot make us forget the regrettable hasty decision of the third Japanese manufacturer involved in MotoGP, Suzuki, at the end of 2022 for economic reasons…
If the ideal solution of 6 times 4 motorcycles will undoubtedly not be achieved in the near future, it would not be a good idea to go down to 4 manufacturers, 2 of which are currently less technically competitive despite the concessions granted!
It is in this context that we were able to question
Eric de Seynes in the paddock of the Barcelona Grand Prix, in order to ensure the continuity over time of the numerous and important efforts undertaken recently by Yamaha in MotoGP, whether by the addition of a satellite team, the loyalty of Fabio Quartararothe start of work on a V4 engine, the contracts signed with the Marmorini family for the engines or those concluded with Dallara for the aerodynamics.
Éric de Seynes, at the end of the year, we are becoming aware of a certain economic uncertainty at KTM, and at Aprilia the numerous departures are also generating question marks. We also know that Japanese manufacturers have suffered technically in recent times, but are gradually recovering. At a time when no commitment has yet been signed for the period 2027-2032, can we be assured of their involvement in MotoGP in the years to come?
Eric de Seynes : “I don't have to comment on the competitors, but as far as we are concerned, in any case, I think that we have not perhaps had the same aggressive investment as others over the years. recent years, and particularly in the COVID period which gave a bit of artificial insight into what the potential of the markets could be, whether from electric bicycles to motorcycles as a whole. And the Japanese, as a whole, were rather reasonable during this period. So we are going to say that today we are in a development and continuation of our investments which remain consistent, but which do not remain impacted by recent events that may have occurred with certain others.
So no, Yamaha is focused, we have said it many times, and it is starting to show a little, and it will show consistently over the coming seasons. We made the honest and sincere decision to invest, to continue to pursue our investment, particularly in MotoGP, and to accept the technological developments which have accelerated over the last few seasons and which have mistreated us, be it for sure. the aero plan, whether it is on the electronic plan, whether it is on the chassis plan.
So today, we work in all aspects of the motorcycle, aero, chassis, engine, electronics. it's a heavy, ambitious plan, because even if we can say it's 3 or 4 tenths per lap, these 4/10 are worth a lot of money, they don't come by themselves, you have to go get them! In any case, Yamaha has the ambition to respond to the situation in which we found ourselves. So afterwards, that doesn't mean that we're going to win everything tomorrow, but in any case, to come back to your question, the path is there, the intention is there, and there is no plan to reduce this effort. »
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