Yamaha MotoGP Team Manager Massimo Meregalli reckons his squad’s approach to “not make a revolution” to its M1 prototype is proving to be the correct decision in 2022.
The Japanese manufacturer has sustained a mixed campaign thus far, with reigning premier class world champion Fabio Quartararo currently on target to score a second straight title as he leads the standings by 21 points over Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro with nine events remaining while team-mate Franco Morbidelli sits a lowly 19th overall having scored just a sole top ten finish.
Despite the Italian’s problems, Yamaha currently reside second in both the teams and constructors tables – a fact that Meregalli reckons illustrates that the brand’s philosophy to “not make a revolution” with its bike is bearing fruit.
Meregalli believes the fact Yamaha can start every race with plenty of relevant information is helping it maximize each weekend, though he conceded the M1’s lack of straight-line prowess was proving troublesome – Meregalli revealing the operation is set to bring an upgrade to the next race at Silverstone to try and improve the machine in this area.
“Our philosophy has always been to not make a revolution, and this year we are proving this based on what we have,” explained Meregalli.
“We are starting all the GP’s with a lot of information and we are trying to improve upon what was already very good, we have a good amount of room to improve the top speed, but during the season you cannot (do much.)
“We are hoping to bring something new for Silverstone, but apart from that our bike has some really strong points but unfortunately at the moment only Fabio (Quartararo) is able to exploit them in the best way.
“We want to go race by race (for the rest of the season) but our aim is always the same, to be consistent and treat all the races like the first.”
Meregalli picked out the season-opening encounter in Qatar as one of the outfit’s “lowest points” of the campaign after struggling to ninth and 11th with Quartararo and Morbidelli at a venue it has traditionally excelled at, though says he is “extremely satisfied” that the Frenchman is leading the riders standing despite not starting “in the way we wanted.”
“It’s been a bit of a mix, because on one side we are extremely satisfied and happy because even though we didn’t start in the way we wanted but we started to improve our performance and results,” Meregalli continued.
“Leading the championship before the break was something we wanted, we are achieving this and it is very important.
“We are struggling on the other side of the garage because we’ve had a tough year with Frankie (Morbidelli), but he has a strong belief and we are sure we will get him back to where he should be.
“Barcelona was a good point for us, because we announced the renewal (with Quartararo) and then won the race and we had a really good test on the Monday.
“The Sachsenring was also great because the way he (Quartararo) won the race was superb, though Le Mans was a disappointment for us because we had a different expectation and we couldn’t achieve our aim.
“Qatar also (was a low point) because there we have always been fast, and being the first race of the season we wanted to perform as we are used to doing and we couldn’t, that for me was one of the lowest points of the season.”
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