Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP was far from having the most positive season opener in Qatar and this was a way to see where the team stands, so believes Massimo Meregalli.
The Team Director spoke about the (long) race of both of the team riders, starting with Fabio Quartaro, P11: ‘You could see that Fabio managed the tyres in such a way that he still had something left at the end to push’.
As for Álex Rins, who got to ride closer to his teammate, he ended up having an issue in the last part of the race that meant the loss of several position, with him ending in P16: ‘Álex was riding well in his first Race with us. He tried to manage the tyres as much as possible as well but, unfortunately, he suffered a front tyre drop in the final six laps, which prohibited him from pushing. This cost him dearly’.
This result was far from positive and will then serve for the team to understand where it currently is, compared to the competitiion, and to serve as ‘benchmark’, has the italian said:
– It’s a shame that we didn’t have a more positive season opener. But we now know where we stand, and we will use this GP as a benchmark as we continue to develop our package.
Remember that the latest reports about the riders pose a serious threat to Yamaha as Quartararo, the last world champion with the team as reference, could have already spoke to Aprilia Racing, to be part of the team, eventually, in 2025.