Jakarta (ANTARA) – Monster Energy Yamaha racers Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins agreed that the YZR-M1 motorbike showed significant improvements from a technical perspective, especially in terms of aerodynamics, after the last day of testing at the Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia, Thursday (8/2).
“The engine for the 2024 motorbike is better, the aerodynamics are also better, but the electronic grip is missing,” said Quartararo, quoted from the team’s official statement, Friday.
“But I think, step by step, you will get closer to the top,” he added.
The French racer completed 56 laps and recorded a positive race speed. His best time on the third day of testing was 1 minute 57.525 seconds which he recorded on lap 12.
He also feels confident that this good progress can bring him closer to his personal target of being in the first two rows in the qualifying rounds this season.
On the other hand, Rins also agreed that the trials related to technical settings carried out by the team were useful for improving the motorbike configuration. Even though he rated the aerodynamic performance as good, Rins admitted that it was quite difficult to stop the motorbike and the rear tire was slightly lifted.
“But anyway, I’m pretty happy with the job that’s been done. “We collected quite a lot of data, so let’s see if we can continue like this and keep improving,” said Rins, who recorded the fastest time on the third day of 1 minute 57.879 seconds.
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Monster Energy Yamaha Team Director Massimo Meregalli added that progress in aerodynamics and engines is the team’s main priority in the 2024 MotoGP test series in Sepang. Apart from that, the team also introduced a new rear starting device embedded in the motorbike.
“All the new items have been approved by all the riders and this is a good sign that the work we have done has been done correctly,” said Meregalli.
He did not deny that there were still gaps that needed to be closed, but the team felt they still had time during pre-season to try to close the gap.
“In terms of race pace, we think we have made improvements because we can also see that the bike is a little faster,” said Meregalli.
“The aerodynamics help the rider when turning and the starting device makes the rider do less wheelies and accelerate more,” he added.
After carrying out a series of official MotoGP 2024 test sessions in Sepang and Qatar, this season’s premier class motorbike racing event will open with the first grand prix at the Lusail International Circuit, Qatar, on March 8-11.
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2024-02-09 02:05:04
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