The change from 1000cc to 850cc engine capacity, combined with a smaller bore size, for the 2027 MotoGP season could benefit Yamaha’s M1.

That’s the view of MotoGP technical journalist and author Neil Spalding, who told the OMG! MotoGP podcast:

“If you look at the new rules, every single major technical aspect has been pulled back by 10 per cent. Totally agree with it. Nicely done. I think it’s quite a classy rulebook.

“[All the manufacturers] have got to build new cylinder heads because the bore has got smaller. Yamaha probably has to build a new engine, but Yamaha probably has to build a new engine anyway.

“And it’s very beneficial to Yamaha.

“Because a V4 [as used by all of Yamaha’s rivals] can now be built 12mm narrower, 6mm off each bore. But the argument is, is it actually worth it? To be honest, quite a few of them won’t bother. They’ll just put smaller pistons on top of the old crankcases.

“But the Yamaha has issues, because it is a four-cylinder inline and ‘too wide’. But now they can shrink the width of the engine by an inch, 6mm off each bore (6 x 4 = 24mm).

“That means it can flick into corners quicker. It’s less wide.

“It also means their radiators can cool properly. That is an issue. Back in the day, with Michelins (before the single tyre era), the front tyre was so close to the radiator and they were making so much heat with the engines that they couldn’t cool.

“There were several races where Rossi was desperate to overtake and get into the cool air in front of the bike ahead.

“Then with the Bridgestones, which didn’t need as much weight on the front tyre, the front wheel went out two inches (away from the radiator) and suddenly the Yamahas could cool.

“Now we’re back to Michelins, the front tyre needs more load on it and is sitting closer to the radiator. But now [in 2027] we can shrink the engine behind the radiator by an inch and get more air flowing around it. For Yamaha, that’s a big thing.”

Spalding is also predicting a big push by the other struggling Japanese manufacturer, Honda, in the next year or two:

“I think these [2027] rules will make a big difference and the front tyre temperature problem will just go away. And on the rider front… I want to know who Honda is going to sign. Not for now, but for 2026.

“Because in 2006 they pulled all the stops out to build a special bike for Nicky Hayden (and won the title). 2012, towards the end of the 800s, they hadn’t won an 800 championship and went for it like crazy. They got Stoner on it in the last year and won.

“Here we are with new rules coming in 2027… I’ll put some money down on Honda A) messing up the rider market and B) trying to win the 2026 world championship almost regardless of cost.”

The Spanish star has ridden with both types of engine in recent seasons, winning five races on the Inline-powered Suzuki from 2017 to 2022, then taking the V4 LCR Honda to a shock victory at COTA this year.

The 27-year-old, still recovering from leg fractures at Mugello, is now returning to an Inline4 by joining the Monster Yamaha team.

But while key design elements of the GSX-RR and YZR-M1 might appear similar on paper, Rins described the Yamaha as a “very different bike compared to the Suzuki.

“I can enter the corner with more front brake [for example] and this is good because you can gain a little bit on the lap time.”

Rins then explained: “I think right now the difference between a V4 engine or an Inline4 is not the biggest difference on the bike.

“Right now, the biggest difference is the aero side. The aero makes you turn better or not, honestly, from my experience with other bikes.

“For example, with the Yamaha [at the Valencia test] I was riding with the standard fairing and with the wind I had a lot of wheelie.

“And when we tried the different [new] fairing, I felt less wheelie and more turning.

“So I think the difference now between the engine [design] disappears.”

Rins was 19th fastest on his Yamaha debut at the Valencia test, but only half a second from new team-mate Fabio Quartararo.

“It was super good. I felt quite comfortable with the bike,” Rins said.

“We split the day in two. In the morning they gave me the setup of Fabio from the race and it was just laps, laps, laps to understand the bike

“Then in the afternoon, we tested some new fairings and, as far as I know, one of the two fairings works better than the standard one.

“So I was quite happy overall.”

Rins gave the GSX-RR a dream farewell with victory in its final race at Valencia 2022. Meanwhile, the Yamaha M1’s losing drought is longer, with its most recent victory several months earlier, in Germany that year.

Rins will be back on the M1 for the Sepang Shakedown test in early February, which Yamaha and Honda race riders are now eligible for due to the revised concessions rankings.

Suzuki’s MotoGP exit left Yamaha as the only MotoGP manufacturer not to use a V4 engine.

That’s according to KTM’s motorsport director Pit Beirer, who explained that the Austrian factory has now dropped its opposition to the engine reduction.

“We agree to the reduction to 850cc,” Beirer told Speedweek.com. “We think this is a relatively sensible reduction.

“Because if you take away 150cc, torque and power are taken out of this class. You can develop very cool MotoGP regulations with 850cc. There is now a stable majority for 850cc.”

Beirer added that KTM had initially sided with Aprilia in beleiving that a cheaper way to reduce engine performance and top speeds would be to change the maximum cylinder bore of the current 1,000cc engines (81mm).

“In principle, Aprilia would like to stick to the 1000cc engine. That was originally our idea too. But after a lot of discussion, we moved into the 850cc direction, which definitely has positive aspects,” Beirer said.

“Of course, it was initially a cost factor for us not to change the engine so radically because it would have been cheaper to continue working on the basis of an existing engine. And the cost side concerns not only Aprilia, but all of us.”

The MotoGP era began with 990cc four-strokes, which replaced 500cc two-strokes in 2002.

But a switch to 800cc engines from 2007-2011 resulted in peaky power curves, as engine designers chased to regain the lost power, and a greater reliance on advanced electronics to tame the delivery.

The end result was expensive, monotonous racing (Suzuki, Kawasaki and Team Roberts eventually deperated) and a return to 1,000cc was agreed from 2012.

MotoGP will hope that the single ECU, introduced since 2016, will avoid the 800cc mistakes of the past.

Aerodynamics are also expected to be cut back for the next five-year contract cycle between Dorna and the manufacturers, as well as a possible ban on ride height devices.

Meanwhile, reducing MotoGP capacity to 850cc might also require clipping the wings of the Moto2 class, which uses 765cc Triumph engines and is tipped to receive more competitive tyres when it changes to Pirellis for next season.

The fastest Moto2 lap at this year’s Sachsenring event was one-second behind the slowest MotoGP race lap.

Brad Binder set a new all time MotoGP top speed record of 227.5mph/366.1km/h in this year’s Mugello Sprint race.

Engine performance has again been labelled as Quartararo’s top priority for next season.

The current design, while better than 2022, is still not strong enough to run high levels of downforce and overtaking the likes of Ducati, Aprilia and KTM remains a major challenge.

The Frenchman acknowledged the prototype 2024 engine ‘felt different’ but struggled to say if it was any better than this year’s design.

“I cannot say right now. I need to test more, but I expected better from this,” Quartararo said.

“The feeling is different. But, like I said, I think I expected more power, more power and yeah… It was a little bit difficult to say something really positive about the engine.

“But we have to stay positive and try to analyse what happened to improve for the Valencia tests.”

That feedback contrasted with a year ago, when Quartararo got his first taste of this year’s engine, designed with the aid of ex-F1 designer Luca Marmorini.

“In 2022, when I tried the 2023 bike [here], I think it’s the first time when I felt the engine was a bit better. But today, I didn’t feel,” he said.

Marmorini was watching from the Monster Yamaha pits, had Quartararo spoken to him?

“I talked to Luca before the start, but not after. So now in approximately 2 minutes, I am in the meeting [with him]. So I prefer to come [here] before the meeting!”

Quartararo agreed that the huge grip levels on track today hadn’t helped with the testing of new parts, since the Yamaha naturally performs better in such conditions.

“The biggest thing for us is when the track is high grip, it changes totally our bike. I did ‘31.4 with almost 20 laps on the tyre. And this was my qualifying lap from the weekend,” said the 2021 world champion, who finished the test sixth fastest.

“Of course, the others are much faster than us, but their performance difference from low grip to high grip is much smaller than us. Our pace improved almost one second, 7-8 tenths. And for them it’s not as much.”

Quartararo was also wary that the boost provided by such grip had perhaps led Yamaha astray in the past.

“I think last year we got it wrong in this area. Many bikes are putting down Michelin rubber, and it’s a track where you spin a lot so you leave a lot of the tyre. If you go to turn 3 right now, it’s black.

“So then you open the throttle, on the race weekend you have to control because it’s sliding, but now you can stay wide open and it’s fake.”

But it wasn’t all bad news.

Quartararo also tried some new aero under the swingarm, which can be used this season since it is outside the restricted ‘aero body’ zones.

“One of the things that was positive was the ‘spoon’ we tried under the swingarm, so I think this we will have for the next race. And the rest, I think we will try to build some new things for Valencia test.”

Team-mate Franco Morbidelli tried a different chassis but didn’t like it.

Quartararo: ‘I have to stay polite’

Quartararo’s current situation is frequently compared with that of fellow former champion Marc Marquez at Honda.

Both champions have been demanding major technical progress after a dire 2023 campaign.

Quartararo has taken just one grand prix podium this season, with Marquez’s only top three finish coming in the season opening Portimao Sprint.

Meanwhile, over 100 points now separates the three European brands – Ducati, KTM and Aprilia – from bottom of the table Yamaha and Honda in the constructors’ standings.

Yamaha’s last MotoGP victory was over a year ago by Quartararo. Marquez has been winless for two seasons, although Alex Rins broke Honda’s drought with a shock victory in COTA this year.

While Marquez is openly teasing a possible switch away from Honda despite a 2024 contract, Quartararo is trying to ‘stay calm’ and ‘stay polite’.

“Yamaha believed in me when I arrived to Moto2, and my attitude at the beginning of this year was a little bit more arrogant than what I had to do,” Quartararo said of his reaction to the disappointing form of this year’s M1.

“So of course we are in a tough moment, but I have to stay polite.

“We [Yamaha and I] both want the same and of course it’s difficult, but I prefer to stay more calm and try to build a better combination with everybody.”

Morbidelli was eighth quickest at a test led by the 2022 Ducati of Luca Marini.

The news came as a relief for the Spaniard, who struggled throughout the Sachsenring event.

However, Vinales admits he and Aprilia must try and identify such issues, which he believes were costing him 6-7 tenths per lap, much sooner in future.

The difficulty in diagnosing the problem was that the engine functioned as normal under acceleration but was suffering an unspecified issue related to engine braking.

“I think in Sachsenring we’ve been very lucky in a certain way because we broke the engine and after we did a deep analysis of the engine, we understand that there was a problem,” Vinales explained.

“I ran all the weekend with engine problems and for us it was very weird that in Sachsenring we weren’t close enough. Because normally our potential there was very high.

“So we didn’t understand it very well but it’s good that we arrive in Assen at least knowing this, so we can do a good job here.”

The Spaniard, who took his first Aprilia podium at Assen last season, added:

“I could not feel anything [wrong] on the bike. But analysing the data, the bike wasn’t braking enough, I was always struggling all weekend with the front, which I am usually very strong with the front.

“We were using a lot of engine brake but my feeling was still I have pushing… in the end, luckily the engine broke and we understand it well!”

Asked how much time the problem was costing him, Vinales replied: “I think at least 6-7 tenths for sure. And 6-7 tenths here [in MotoGP] puts you in the top 4-5.

“So [in the future] we, or at least myself on the bike, need to understand these things quicker. But it’s not easy to understand that the engine is not going correct. It’s difficult because it had everything [normal] on throttle connection.

“The connection was good, power was good. It was everything on engine brake. So I didn’t understand if it was the track, if it was the bike, it was complicated.”

The official MotoGP engine list states that Vinales took to the Sachsenring track with the problematic engine (first used in the Portimao season opener) during P1, P2, FP3, the sprint, warm-up and finally the grand prix, where it failed on lap 8 of 30.

Without the engine problem, Vinales feels he could have beaten at least some of the Ducatis, which filled eight of the top nine places.

“I was able to do top 6 in Sachsenring, even with the lap times of last year,” he said. “This year’s bike is a bit better and I understand better the bike. So at the end for me it’s not that they [Ducati] made a step forward, it’s that we make a step backwards compared to where we were. In this case, because of the engine.

“We weren’t able to take out the maximum, otherwise we will be there – not maybe with Pecco and Martin because they were very fast. But maybe in the second group.

“So we need to be calm. We have a good bike and we need to keep pushing with that.”

Team-mate Aleix Espargaro dropped to 16th place after a soft tyre gamble backfired, but was also very strong at Assen last season, fighting through the field after an early collision with Fabio Quartararo.

Following Suzuki’s exit, Yamaha is now the only MotoGP manufacturer without a V4 and is currently languishing fifth and last in the constructors’ standings.

Former world champion Fabio Quartararo, who has taken just one podium from ten races this season, is pushing for big changes to revive the M1 project.

In particular, the Frenchman has made clear that the 2023 engine upgrades are still not enough to allow them to run the kind of high downforce levels of their main rivals.

Starting a new V4 project would be a massive commitment for Yamaha, and there’s no guarantee that it would solve the M1’s issues in the foreseeable future.

Suzuki also proved that an Inline was good enough to win two of the final three races last season, but perhaps it’s time to revive MotoGP’s successful concession system, – redundant following Aprilia’s graduation – to allow, for example, extra testing for manufacturers at the bottom of the constructors’ standings?

Or maybe the MotoGP technical rules, which already offer different minimum weights (150kg for up to 800cc, 157kg for 801cc-1000cc – the unanimous choice) could offer a small perk for an Inline engine layout, such as a slight increase in the current maximum cylinder bore of 81 mm?

Keeping different engine designs competitive through technical regulations is a problem World Superbike has long grappled with and perhaps it’s time for MotoGP to also accept that some kind of balancing is needed to avoid all factories converging on one dominant engine design. Especially in a single tyre championship.

Both possibilities were discussed in a recent issue of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast featuring Keith Huewen, when replying to a listener question about how much influence the Yamaha riders have in bike development.

Former grand prix rider and British champion Huewen said: “Maybe Suzuki saw the writing on the wall for an [Inline] 4-cylinder motorcycle. Maybe they were topped-out on their development and knew that they had to go V4-style to get the type of power that everybody else had. And maybe that’s why Suzuki pulled the plug, even though they’d signed for another five years.

“There will have been other business reasons behind it I’m sure, but on reflection perhaps that was an element of their decision to pull out because they were at the end of their development with that style of power package.

“And maybe Yamaha are there as well.

“The four-cylinder cross-plane is a fast motorcycle on its own, when Quartararo can run his lines. But you can’t do that in a race situation where everyone else’s style and performance means putting the power down in a different place on the track. For Quartararo or whoever’s riding the bike, it will mess up their corner speed.

“Again, this is what worries me about whether we will be in a situation where we’ll lose someone like Yamaha to the series, because the investment in changing their philosophy of powertrain is huge. And [a V4] goes against their marketing in terms of what they’ve got going on in the road bike scenario.

“I just think to myself sometimes that maybe Suzuki saw where their future lies and dived out of the game. Will Yamaha do the same?”

Crash.net MotoGP editor Pete McLaren added: “Taking that a little bit further Keith, maybe in the rules package that is being decided for the future, 2027 onwards, there should be slightly different technical rules for Inline 4 cylinders. In the same way that we used to have different technical rules for different numbers of cylinders, just to try and keep that engine variety in MotoGP rather than everybody on V4s.”

Huewen responded: “Let me expand that out, because I think that’s a really good direction of travel: Alter the concessions package so the manufacturers that are clearly in trouble can test extra stuff.

“I think that’s where Yamaha is at. The limited testing is an issue. I think the concessions could be expanded. It costs really nothing and they can try stuff around the races perhaps. Book a test the day after or something, without going somewhere across the other side of the world.

“That’s the issue I think with Yamaha. They should really be able to test with their main race riders and they need concessions to be able to do that.

“So maybe there’s a position within the new technical rules package, when it comes, that concessions can be modified a little bit and fine-tuned.”

Returning to this season, McLaren wondered whether it might have been useful if Morbidelli had homologated the new bigger aero he ran throughout winter testing for the start of this season.

“Maybe they could have used Morbidelli a bit like Ducati have used Pramac as far the aero packages. Pramac is running that new ‘Aprilia-style’ ground effect fairing while the factory team has the evolution of the previous Ducati fairing.

“So maybe Morbidelli could have kept the new bigger aero, instead of joining Quartararo on the old smaller aero, just so they were gathering data on both in all these races.

“OK, it might not have been ideal for Morbidelli, but maybe with hindsight they could have said, ‘Look Franco, Fabio likes the old one, but we really want you to run this new one. We think it has much more potential’.

“Then Yamaha could have used the data gathered from both aero packages to help deliver their one aero upgrade they are allowed during the season.

“The downside is that it would have meant two different spec Yamahas on the grid, so exchanging tyre and set-up data would have been harder. Which comes back to the problem of only having two bikes.”

Suzuki’s exit leaves Yamaha as the only manufacturer with an Inline4 engine configuration and a question from a listener asked if they should change to a V4?

“The Inline4 has done them well over a lot of years,” replied former grand prix rider and British champion Keith Huewen.

“They’re the only ones left with it now, after Suzuki bailed. But Suzuki were getting the kind of power they wanted out of their bike and now that Yamaha have got a few changes in their structure behind the scenes, perhaps Yamaha will do some catching up.

“I still go back to the fact there is not enough testing time in the winter for these factories to make major changes and get things right in time to go racing. But very soon the rules will need to be agreed for the next five-year cycle between the manufacturers and Dorna, which starts in 2027.

“If Yamaha is going to change its tradition, if you like, with the engine, that would be the time to do it.”

Crash.net’s MotoGP editor Pete McLaren added: “Yamaha have got so much knowledge of the Inline engine and it’s not just as simple as building a V4 and everything will be fine.

“It would be a huge decision to change and Yamaha would probably have to develop a parallel project, a new V4 alongside the Inline4, and then switch over to the V4 if and when it performed better. But that’s a massive amount of investment.

“So I think it makes sense for various reasons for them to probably stick with the engine configuration that they know best. They’ve brought in outside help in the form of Luca Marmorini to produce more power this year and it seems to have worked.

“They’re not going to be blasting past the Ducatis but they’re certainly a lot closer. Quartararo wanted enough top speed to fight and it looks like he’s got that. We’ll only find out for sure at the first race. But as Keith said, the Suzuki Inline engine had decent top speed, and there’s no reason why the Yamaha can’t as well.”

Quartararo felt ‘at one’ with the Yamaha in Portimao

After a disappointing end to the Valencia and Sepang tests, Fabio Quartararo and Yamaha looked to have made a breakthrough as the former champion surged up the timesheets to third on the final day of the pre-season.

“Quartararo said he felt ‘at one’ with the bike again, which will be words that worry his rivals,” McLaren said. “But he got that step by going backwards and taking off some of the 2023 modifications. It sounds like he basically mixed last year’s aero and chassis, with some old settings, and the new engine.

“He explained that because Yamaha really didn’t change much over the previous three years, it’s almost like they’ve tried to introduce all of the developments that should have come along incrementally during that time, in one go this winter. It was just a bit much at once and upset things a little. He was fighting with the bike and had problems with new rear tyres.

“So by stepping back a bit and combining some of what they know works with the new more powerful engine, in Quartararo’s words, he made a ‘massive step’.

“On the other hand, Franco Morbidelli was still at the bottom of the timesheets, and still trying new aero parts. There’s a big decision there now because he’s got to homologate a fairing at round one, so does he go with Quartararo on the old fairing, which he didn’t seem to try, or with one of the new fairings?”

Huewen said: “It looks to me like there’s a contrast in temperament at Yamaha at the moment. Quartararo is quite excitable, you see all the emotion, up and down. While Morbidelli hasn’t really been 100% ‘Franco Morbidelli’ for some time.

“It’s good to hear Quartararo say he’s happy and comfortable on it, but if it doesn’t quite work that way at the next round, then maybe we’ll see a slightly different Quartararo.

“I think Portimao on an Inline4 should be quite good fun, but I’d still be extremely worried to hear Pecco Bagnaia say he’s 100% ready for this season after he fought back from 91 points down last year…”

Download Episode 80 at the following links…

New podcasts available each week.

MotoGP engine design is homologated (or frozen) for each rider at round one of each season.

While Marini joined Pramac riders Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco in registering the ‘full’ 2022 engine spec last year, handling problems in testing prompted factory team riders Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller to make a last-minute switch to a ‘hybrid’ powerplant fitted with 2021 parts.

There were thus two slightly different engine specifications for the GP22s, even before the normal flow of in-season factory upgrades.

“It is very difficult for us to find a base, sometimes we go the way of Pecco or Jack but then we have another bike,” Martin said at Mugello in May. “We are a bit alone in that aspect. They [Ducati] are helping us – but having different specs of bike on the grid is not easy for them to understand each spec.”

“I have not tried [the engine spec homologated for Bagnaia and Miller],” Martin added. “But for sure the ‘22 [engine] we are using, I have not felt good since the first day and I’m still struggling with it… I feel like we have a big issue with the rear grip.”

The factory team took their bikes to eight wins (seven for Bagnaia, one for Miller) and the riders’ title for Bagnaia, while the satellite GP22 riders went on to celebrate eight podiums (four each for Zarco and Martin) for eighth, ninth and twelfth in the standings.

On paper, Marini is now the only Ducati rider keeping the same machine as last year – the factory and Pramac teams getting new GP23s, while VR46 team-mate Marco Bezzecchi and Gresini step up to GP22s from GP21s.

However, Marini – fastest in both winter tests, at Valencia and Sepang – confirmed that he is now running the GP22-spec used by Bagnaia and Miller.

“Compared to the beginning of last season, it is a completely different bike. Now it is a very good bike, but also this spec that I have now is a little bit different compared to [my spec] last year,” Marini said.

“Something changed and the changes are positive. I like it so much. I feel comfortable in every part and, sincerely, this bike doesn’t have negative points in my opinion.”

“It’s a little bit different, inside the bike,” he added. “Riding is a little bit better, the electronic side is a little bit more updated, something like this. So the first touch of gas is much better and the engine brake works a little bit better, so you can brake a little bit later. All small changes, but positive.

“The DNA is the same but these little upgrades make a little bit of difference.”

Asked directly if he is basically using the bike spec that Bagnaia and Miller finished last season with, Marini replied: “Yeah, exactly.

“They changed something [compared to the satellite GP22s], they gave it to us and it’s good.”

The only downside to the upgrade is that Marini might find that some of his preferred settings from last season don’t transfer directly across at certain circuits in 2023.

While Bastianini proved that a year-old Ducati can win races and fight for the championship, Marini thinks outperforming the GP23s will be a much tougher task.

“I don’t think so,” he said, when asked if the GP22 could be the stronger package in the early rounds, “also because speaking with the Ducati guys, the GP23 is not a revolution.

“They understand their mistakes [at the start of 2022] and they’ve tried to make another step, but a little step compared to last season’s bike of Pecco.

“Also because it was a winning bike. So they don’t need to change [a lot].”

02.02.2023 |
Christina Bulpett |
WorldSBK

Reigning WorldSBK Champion Alvaro Bautista was back on top of the times as winter testing concluded at Portimao on Wednesday.

With his best 1’39.035 effort easily under the current lap record at the Algarve International Circuit, the Aruba.it rider had rapid company. Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea was just 0.009s behind his rival with fellow Ducati rider Michael Rinaldi a further tenth back, while Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu also broke the previous margin on 1’39.4 pace.

Tuesday’s times had seen the same top three with just the Ducatis reversed, a consistency that bodes well for the Spaniards title defence.

“At the end, winter test you can see many good lap times but at the end for us the important thing is the feeling with the bike, the work we did with the bike,” Bautista said of his pre-season preparation. “Today I felt quite good, we try many things. We found something that can help in the future, we found a bit more grip on the maximum angle on the rear so I’m happy for that. Maybe the difference is not to big but I felt, so I’m happy with this two day test.

“I didn’t have expectation before the winter test started because we had a new bike so I didn’t want to make some expectation. I just want to try and let’s see the potential. Now I’m happy because the new Ducati allowed me to be more precise, especially on the engine side, for the character of the engine is more smooth. So yeah, I’m happy what I found in the new bike and let’s see if we can use in the races as well.

“It’s more from the apex to the exit, especially the first few metres of the exit of the corner,” he continued, when pressed on how the changes translate to his performance. “Also today we try a different setup in the swingarm and we found a bit more initial grip so it helped me to have some speed exiting from the corner, better speed at the beginning of the exit of the corner, maybe the difference is not too big but I feel is a positive point today.

“Let’s see what happens when the races start, because as I said, always in winter test you cannot see the true [potential]. So we have to keep focused on our work. We have another test in Australia before the first race but there will be just work for the race weekend, more than set up of the bike. For sure I look forward because tests are okay, you enjoy the bike but at the end I miss the race, I miss the battles. So, I look forward to start the season.”

While the tests proved positive, it wasn’t all plain sailing at Portimao.

“Yes, I crashed,” Bautista admitted of his second fall of the outing. “Maybe I found the limit in that corner, turn seven. Yeah, I was too fast but it’s better to find the limits in the winter test! Yesterday in turn five was nothing but here was more serious but fortunately I’m okay.”

“At the end, we have a good base on the bike,” he continued. So we try just to make some small adjustment or fine tuning but you know, when you are in a level it’s difficult to make a big improvement. It’s just a question of small details. I think our base bike is quite okay. It’s working well in Jerez and here so I’m happy with that.

“For sure, I know much better the bike, because last year was my first year after comeback with Ducati so now I have more confidence and I know much better all the changes we do in the bike – if it’s better or not. I have more confidence on the bike and more confidence in myself. I just want to start the season because tests are okay, but at the end I miss the race battles and the race weekend but I think we have a good set up.”

While the top four remained tight at the top of the times, that was not the case on track, with the 38-year-old opting to concentrate on himself than check out his rivals around the rollercoaster.

“No, I don’t care because I focus on myself. I found some slower riders than me but no Jonathan, no Toprak and no Michael. So I hope to see them in the races, fighting with them.

As the first round of the season approaches later this month, does the title-holder have any expectations for Australia?

No, I just go there, try to get the good feedback on the test before the race and then let’s see,” Bautista admitted. “Philip Island is not easy track. So I’m looking forward to go there and try to have the same feeling I had during test in Jerez and here and if the feeling is like here, I think my target is to enjoy the race. Without result, just the result is a consequence. We go there just to do the best and try to have fun on the weekend.”

30.01.2023 |
Gordon Ritchie |
WorldSBK

It has been a short winter for WorldSBK, but a long one in terms of post-2022 season commitments and celebrations for reigning World Champion Alvaro Bautista and his Aruba.it Ducati team.

After a multi-day joint celebration of winning both MotoGP and WorldSBK championships in 2022 – and a simultaneous joint team launch – in the exclusive Madonna di Campignoni ski resorts in Trentino, North East Italy – Bautista and his teammate Micheal Rinaldi made a quick turnaround to south west Spain for two days of testing at Jerez between 25-26 January.

On a revised Ducati Panigale V4R Bautista had a crash early in the first day that he blamed on a too slow and off-line Ana Carrasco – the aftermath of which continues to rumble. He recovered and went on to set a higher total of laps than any of his numerous 2023 WorldSBK and WorldSSP colleagues – 174. He was third fastest overall, very close behind Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea.

With a second test scheduled this week at Portimao on 31st January and 1st February, Bautista reflected on his first outing of the year. “Especially this afternoon, with the wind, you have to understand which direction the wind was pushing,” the Spaniard said at the close of play at Jerez. “There were some places where you had to change the way you rode. Some corners it pushed you out and some corners it pushed you in, so you had to understand that. In cold conditions, normally I struggle a little bit more, but today I think I had the best feeling ever in the winter tests. I never had this quite good feeling in these conditions. Right now I am happy with the feeling I have on the bike. I would prefer it to be hot, but it is a winter test.”

Bautista also used a new SCQ tyre and said, “I tried both compounds, and they are very similar. With this condition it was very difficult to understand because that kind of tyre does not work really well in these conditions. They are similar, and I did more or less the same lap times. I did around five laps on them both. The times were really close.”

Other riders found more improvements in pace than Bautista when using the Qs, to which he said, “Maybe because they tried like it was a race qualification. I always try in the winter tests to understand how much I can push or how good the tyre is or not. I am working, so if with the SC0, for example, I am doing 90 per cent, then with the Q I am doing 90 per cent. The improvement is maybe just because the tyre allows me to go a bit faster. Maybe some other riders make 90 per cent on an SC0 and make 110 per cent on the Q. I always say winter tests are winter tests, and when the races are coming it seems like the winter tests everybody is very close, but in reality when the races are coming there is a big difference. I am focusing on myself to understand. It is more important the feeling on the bike in these conditions.”

“Here it was important to get back to have a good feeling with the bike. I am really happy because from the first lap I felt so good.”

Bautista had a different engine character, a new exhaust and some other items that are new for 2023, but it seems that there are more things to come soon. “We tried here some things but we have Portimao also for the set-up area,” he explained. “Basically the bike is very similar to last year. The base is good so now in Portimao we will try some ideas we had last year that we did not want to try in the season. So it was better to have a good feeling with the bike first and then we try (them).

“Ducati made a good improvement with the engine character. It helps me in general. It seems like from the bottom there is more smooth power, and it is more linear. It helps me to make the corner more in an angle, with less corner speed and more acceleration. It’s a bit easier to ride like this. Over these two days I had to understand and adapt my style to this kind of engine. In the frame side, it is basically the same, but I think this is the Ducati character. When I speak to the riders in MotoGP they have exactly the same problem as me. This is the Ducati character and it is difficult to be sure, but for the engine they help me a lot and I can be a lot more precise on the riding. I feel more safe and more consistent. They made good improvements, we need to improve in other areas, but I think it is more difficult.”

“I was quite comfortable riding in 1’39.0-39.1 for many laps and on a tyre with almost 20 laps on it,” Bautista said of his overall race pace at Jerez. “I am happy with my pace and feeling.”