The start to the 2024 MotoGP season has not been easy for Yamaha having scored just 19 points in the opening three rounds, with a best of eighth for Fabio Quartararo in the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Despite this, Yamaha has been able to snare Quartararo to a new two-year contract and has big updates planned for the coming races.
With tests lined up for after the Spanish and French GPs, 2021 world champion Quartararo admits the next month will be “busy” but is “quite optimistic” for the updates scheduled.
“It’s going to be busy,” he said.
“It will be a busy test for us in Jerez. Then after Le Mans, we have two days in Mugello.
“So, it’s going to be a busy month for us, but it’s the mindset for me right now.
“It’s not focused on the results but focused on trying to improve our bike.
“Of course, it’s difficult because I’m a winner and I want to finish the best as possible, but I think sometimes it’s great to make these kinds of things that we made this weekend.”
Asked by Autosport if Yamaha management had told him anything about the amount of updates it would be bringing, Quartararo added: “I think the amount is not the most important thing.
“It’s better the quality than the quantity. I think the quality of the aero that is coming, they are really optimistic because from 2019 till this year we were riding the same aero basically.
“This year is the first year we are racing with a different style of aero.
“So, basically, we are learning. From January we have made some big steps, but from January to April is just a few months and you cannot completely change your bike and mentality. But we are quite optimistic.”
Despite finishing a lowly 12th in the Americas GP, Quartararo feels the weekend was positive overall as Yamaha has been able to confirm exactly what its main issues are.
“I mean, the direction we know what we need,” he said.
“So, this is something really positive because it’s three races and three races where we missed exactly in the same areas.
“This weekend was great because we basically tried many, many things.
“Now we turned around all the settings on the bike.
“Now we need new items to really improve. It’s coming, it’s on the way, but I think right now the goal is on improving our bike and not focus on the results.”
