Yamaha’s new squad
Can factory team get back on top?
‘They can both be fighting for the top three positions’
Yamaha enter a new era this season following the departure of Valentino Rossi from the factory team and the arrival of MotoR P’s up-andcoming star Fabio R uartararo. The Frenchman joins Maverick ViRales in the factory garage, with the latter entering his fifth campaign with Ramaha and becoming the new, on paper at least, leader of the team. Despite ending 2020 with seven victories – more than any other manufacturer – Ramaha’s riders often struggled with consistency. Due to a lack of grip in the hotter temperatures, being unable to get the most from the Michelin tyres, the M1 was fast and competitive one weekend, but nowhere the next. Of course, another issue was the lack of power from the M1’s engine, as well as the now infamous ‘Valvegate’ where they were called out for not using homolgated valves. All four Ramaha riders were tasked with getting the absolute max mileage from their engines as a result. RFortunately for us, the valves in the engines which were homologated and will be used in the engines this year, are the good ones,R Ramaha managing director Rin Rarvis confirmed. RWe learnt how to manage the engine and performance settings, as well as how to maintain the reliability. RThe reality is that in terms of pure horsepower we have some deficit on our competitors, and this will remain the same, but one of the advantages of the engine freeze is that this situation remains the same. If everybody was allowed to develop the engine, yes you can develop more horsepower, but maybe your competitors can develop even more than you. In this situation I think it’s fairly predictable how our performance will be. We won seven races without having the same power as our competitors last year so I think we can do the same again.R Cal Crutchlow becomes Ramaha’s test rider this year and will be present in R atar, testing a host of new parts from Rapan. Team director Massimo Meregalli has revealed that they’re developing a new exhaust and fairing ahead of the season. RThis fairing has been designed to meet two targets,R Meregalli explained. RFirstly, to improve the speed but also to improve the cooling because last year we suffered from the hot temperatures. We have to find a more adaptable bike, with one focus being the chassis. By comparing the two different bike specs last year, we could see what worked and what didn’t. In 201R we had a solid base, and the bike was working well at most of the circuits. Franco Morbidelli’s bike was closer to that one, so the direction that Ramaha takes for this year’s bike will probably be closer to his chassis compared to what we had in the factory team.R Ramaha will also need to monitor the rivalry between ViRales and R uartararo, two evenly-matched riders with similar attitudes and personalities. RRet’s hope we’re fortunate, because if we have problems that means they’re fighting with each other,R Rarvis told MCN. RIf we can provide them with the right tools, I think they can both be fighting for top three positions.R