MotoGP Misano Test
Focus on Yamaha
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli were back aboard their YZR-M1s on Wednesday for the second and last day of the 2022 Misano MotoGP Official Test. They secured 1st and 12th place respectively in the overall combined timesheets.
The teammates used Wednesday‘s two sessions to get into the nitty gritty of the data required to evaluate the new testing items: including a prototype 2023 engine, a new chassis, and winglets.
Quartararo focused on electronics work in the morning and completed 40 laps in FP3 of the Misano Test and clocked a 1‘31.116s on lap 39, the top time of the session.
His improved feeling with his YZR-M1 put the Frenchman in a great mood as he tested fairings and winglets in the afternoon.
Quartararo ran another 32 laps and bettered his personal best lap of the test to a 1‘31.054s on lap 26. That put him atop the overall timesheets, with a 0.118s advantage over his closest rival in the final combined results, although his morning time would have also topped the charts.
Quartararo was second quickest through the speed traps in what was an encouraging first showing for the new prototype engine that Yamaha are preparing for 2023. The Frenchman admitted that speed had been achieved while in a slipstream but was still very positive about the progress made in the engine department.
Morbidelli had enjoyed the first day of the Misano Test, especially as the new engine ticked all the boxes of what he had hoped for, making for a smooth yet powerful bike. The Italian dedicated the FP3 practice time to gathering further data. He got in 35 laps and set a 1‘31.614s for ninth place in the FP3 results.
Morbidelli continued work in the afternoon session right through until the chequered flag, riding another 33 laps, setting a 1‘31.714s for third place in the FP4 timesheets on his final try. However, he didn‘t improve on his best time. It was his morning lap that put him in 12th place in the overall results, 0.560s from the top.
Following a very intense and emotional weekend for the WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team with Andrea Dovizioso’s retirement from his racing career in MotoGP, the squad was back in action on Tuesday and Wednesday with the rest of the MotoGP paddock for the two-day Misano Test.
Darryn Binder had concluded Sunday’s race in P16, almost reaching the points and was just missing his decent and consistent pace in the final six laps.
Therefore, the MotoGP rookie together with his crew was trying to find the reasons and mainly working on improving the second half of the race, where he played with the electronics and settings in order to be more conservative with the tyres throughout race distance.
Binder did a total of 133 laps in the course of the two days and improved his fastest time from the race weekend.
Despite retiring from MotoGP racing last Sunday, Andrea Dovizioso was riding on Tuesday morning in Misano to assist Alpinestars in terms of product development.
Fabio Quartararo – P1
“It was a good test. This morning we worked pretty well on the electronics of the new bike. In the afternoon we had fairings and wings to test. I‘m feeling pretty positive about next year‘s bike. The top speed looks good, so I feel super happy! It‘s a great feeling.
“I got a great slip stream to set the 298km/h top speed this morning. But the average of the speed was also good, this is super important. So, I‘m looking forward to having this engine in a proper race.”
Franco Morbidelli – P12
“It was a busy day, tough. Also today, we’ve gone over, analysed, and tested many things. I have to say that it was a positive day. Unfortunately, the hot lap didn’t come out well. But anyway, our pace and our average level were really good.
“We found many different solutions. They are all interesting, so we need to make the right choices. But the team and Yamaha did a wonderful job in stepping up in terms of items for the bike. They did a great job at home, and these two days of testing were really good to appreciate the job they did.”
Darryn Binder – P25
“It’s been a good test in my eyes. We tried lots of little things like with the electronics, a bit different set-up with the rear shock and the front fork, stuff like that, but overall, I feel we made positive small gains. I was able to be a lot more consistent and quicker than I was over the race weekend, which I was quite happy about.
“We only rode on the medium rear and the hard front on both days. I never really did a time attack, but overall, I was faster than last weekend and I’m happy with the steps we made.
“We did a couple of back checks to make sure we are still heading in the right direction. Everything we’ve tried has been positive, so I’m happy with that. Spinning a lot of laps on this bike can only benefit me at the end of the day. It’s always nice to get more laps under your belt.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“We are quite satisfied because the test went well. Overall, for what we‘ve tested – mainly a new engine for next year and also a new chassis – all the information we gathered was very good.
“We gained some top speed, and the lap times are becoming quicker and are coming easier for the riders. They are happy because they clearly felt the improvement with the new engine. This is very important for next year, but it‘s also important for the mindset of the riders this year. It puts their minds at ease, because they got to experience for themselves what Yamaha promised them for this test. We are really happy and are looking forward to the next step for the Valencia Test.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Manager
“Last Sunday was Andrea’s last race and he did a test on Tuesday morning for Alpinestars and we gave him the green light to do that on his MotoGP bike.
“With Darryn we continued our work after the races on Sunday. There have been some parts to try, also some settings to test, especially electronics, because we found out during the race it was quite fine until lap 21 and then the bike started to get loose because the grip drops and you have to control it. So, we tried to focus on that. Finally, he improved his lap times compared to the weekend, the grip level was quite good during this test, but everyone was really fast.”
MotoGP will next be back in action on 16-18 Sept at Round 15 of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship, held at the MotorLand Aragón circuit in Spain.
MotoGP Misano Test Combined Times
- Fabio Quartararo – Yamaha 1m31.054 (FP4)
- Francesco Bagnaia – Ducati 1m31.172 (FP3)
- Maverick Vinales – Aprilia 1m31.189 (FP3)
- Enea Bastianini – Ducati 1m31.260 (FP3)
- Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia 1m31.333 (FP3)
- Jorge Martin – Ducati 1m31.439 (FP3)
- Luca Marini – Ducati 1m31.473 (FP2)
- Miguel Oliveira – KTM 1m31.585 (FP3)
- Marco Bezzecchi – Ducati 1m31.591 (FP2)
- Fabio DiGiannantonio – Ducati 1m31.605 (FP3)
- Johann Zarco – Ducati 1m31.606 (FP2)
- Franco Morbidelli – Yamaha 1m31.614 (FP3)
- Marc Marquez – Honda 1m31.642 (FP3)
- Pol Espargaro – Honda 1m31.707 (FP1)
- Takaaki Nakagami – Honda 1m31.786 (FP4)
- Brad Binder – KTM 1m31.803 (FP4)
- Alex Marquez – Honda 1m31.864 (FP4)
- Jack Miller – Ducati 1m31.927 (FP3)
- Alex Rins – Suzuki 1m31.936 (FP1)
- Michele Pirro – Ducati 1m32.070 (FP3)
- Dani Pedrosa – KTM 1m32.308 (FP3)
- Raul Fernandez – KTM 1m32.346 (FP3)
- Remy Gardner – KTM 1m32.433 (FP3)
- Stefan Bradl – Honda 1m32.634 (FP1)
- Darryn Binder – Yamaha 1m32.820 (FP1)
- Lorenzo Savadori – Aprilia 1m33.379 (FP1)
- Dominique Aegerter – Suzuki 1m33.907 (FP1)
- Andrea Dovizioso – Yamaha 1m34.897 (FP1)
MotoGP Misano Test Day Two Top Speeds
- Martin 300.0
- Quartararo 298.3
- Vinales 298.3
- Bagnaia 297.5
- A Espargaro 297.5
- Pedrosa 297.5
- Miller 296.7
- Bastianini 296.7
- Pirro 295.8
- Oliveira 295.8
