Yamaha factory rider Valentino Rossi and MotoGP championship-leading stablemate Fabio Quartararo have admitted that they are stumped about why Yamaha isn’t utilising three-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo in his new role as test rider.
After retiring from racing at the end of his difficult Honda season in 2019, Lorenzo returned to his long-time home Yamaha on a test deal and was in action for the team during the winter.
But Lorenzo has not been on the bike since then, and the Yamaha racers said ahead of this weekend’s Misano that they didn’t get why Lorenzo hadn’t joined the likes of Dani Pedrosa (KTM), Michele Pirro (Ducati) and Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki) on track in recent weeks.
“I have the same question as you!” Quartararo admitted when asked about it.
“Honestly, I don’t know, but it’s true that we don’t understand why.
“We know in the past the capacity of Jorge with the Yamaha and I don’t know why he isn’t riding.
“He did 20 laps in Sepang and that’s it, but since June we’ve seen all the other test riders riding but not the Yamaha.
“I’m not saying that it’s a disadvantage, but it’s always good to have some comments about your bike on new asphalt.”
“Sometimes things happen in Yamaha that are difficult to explain” :: Valentino Rossi
Yamaha is the only team that hasn’t tested at the resurfaced Misano track ahead of this weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix.
Rossi had even stronger words for Yamaha senior management about the decision.
He lamented the absence of his former bitter rival but now valued team-mate Lorenzo, and said he often doesn’t understand some of the decisions made by his long-term employer.
“I have exactly the same question for Yamaha because I was very happy when I understood that Jorge was our test rider,” said Rossi, pictured racing Lorenzo as team-mates in 2015.
“He’s one of the best riders in history on the M1, and he can help us a lot.
“We’ve seen what Pedrosa did for KTM in one year – he gave them a lot of good advice.
“Yamaha has to trust in the programme too, and sincerely I don’t know.
“Sometimes things happen in Yamaha that are difficult to explain, and you have to ask them why.
“For sure we’ll have to start from zero with the new asphalt and try to understand things that other teams like KTM and Ducati have already done in the last test. It’ll be more hard, I think.”
Adding to the complexity of the issues facing the four Yamahas of Quartararo, Rossi, Maverick Vinales and Franco Morbidelli are an extended tyre range for this weekend, with Michelin following its usual protocol of bringing a fourth, harder-compound front tyre to ensure its range of options covers all eventualities on the new surface.
However, even that decision has been made without Yamaha’s input, with Michelin boss Piero Taramasso stating that the compounds selected for this weekend were as a conclusion of the data gathered from the Yamaha-less tests at the Adriatic circuit.
“Misano is an unusual circuit and you never really know what to expect. It gave lots of grip in 2018 and we broke records and saw fast and consistent laps, but then last year the asphalt behaved as if there was hardly any traction at all,” said Taramasso.
“So it was good to have it resurfaced in readiness for this season and because of testing we conducted with various teams and riders, we have the data to choose this year’s compounds, we now have to see how the asphalt performs during a race weekend.”
Despite that disadvantage, Yamaha began the Misano weekend strongly with a 1-2 for Vinales and Quartararo in opening practice.
