Andalusia MotoGP: Quartararo "not worried" about Yamaha engine issues
MotoGP Andalusian Grand Prix winner Fabio Quartararo says he's "not worried" about Yamaha's apparent engine reliability woes, following two failures in two races for Franco Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi
Factory Yamaha rider Rossi was forced to retire in the latter stages of last week's season-opener at Jerez with a mystery engine issue, while Morbidelli suffered an identical failure while battling for the podium in Sunday's second Jerez encounter.
Autosport revealed on Thursday that Yamaha had sent an engine from Rossi and Maverick Vinales' allocation back to Japan for analysis, with the official engine sheet from Dorna Sports issues on Sunday morning confirming this.
The sheet also showed Vinales has unsealed all of his five allotted engines for this year, while the other three Yamaha riders have used four already.
With three races at two power-dependent tracks in Brno and Red Bull Ring coming up next month in a three-week period, this could pose issues for Yamaha.
When asked if he was concerned about Yamaha's issues affecting him, Quartararo said: "I'm not worried.
"Our job as a rider is to perform on the track and we have hundreds of engineers that are working on the engine, on the bike.
"If there is a problem, we have two weeks [before Brno] so I hope they will find something.
"But at the moment I had zero problems with the engine.
"So, I'm feeling good. Like a rider, I just focus on riding and not on technical problems."
Vinales, who finished second at the Andalusian GP, said he felt a "strange rumble" from his engine in FP3 last week, but didn't encounter anymore issues across the two race weekends.
"Well I had an issue in FP3 in the morning," he said.
"I felt a strange rumble from the bike, so I stopped immediately in the garage.
"I don't know nothing more. I know that the engine didn't give any problem right now.
"All the race it was consistent, didn't drop the power, so we'll see moving forward.
"But as Fabio said, they have two weeks to understand what was the problem on the engine and see because we see Franco broke an engine, Valentino broke an engine last week.
"So, we need to find and fix it.
"It's very important also because this championship is difficult and we will put a lot of pressure on the engine, especially in the next few races."
Morbidelli was at a loss as to what happened with his engine, as it wasn't a "real breakdown".
"It came out of the blue, the bike just stopped and we don't know why," he explained.
"But it came out of the blue. I just felt the engine wasn't going anymore, and I shut [off] the bike because I didn't know what was going to happen.
"It wasn't a real breakdown, just something wrong. I didn't exactly understand what was going on. But in doubt, I switched off the engine."
Andalusia MotoGP: Rossi overcomes Yamaha "politics" in podium return
Andalusia MotoGP: Injured Rins "super proud" to finish "unbelievable" second Jerez race
How Ducati has drawn first blood in the 2022 MotoGP title race
The 2021 MotoGP season may have only just ended but preparations for 2022 are well underway following a two-day test at Jerez this week. Ducati has hit the ground running while a lack of progress dominated Yamaha’s and world champion Fabio Quartararo’s test. While no battle lines have been drawn yet for 2022, it appears Ducati has already drawn first blood...
Why Suzuki's quest for a new MotoGP boss may be too late
Suzuki is on the search for a new team manager after its decision not to replace Davide Brivio at the start of 2021 was backed up by its unsuccessful bid to help Joan Mir defend his 2020 MotoGP world title. But whoever Shinichi Sahara appoints next, it may have already come too late to convince Mir to stick with the project
How Rossi got the perfect send-off to his MotoGP career
The greatest chapter in MotoGP history came to a close at the Valencia Grand Prix as Valentino Rossi bid farewell after 26 seasons of grand prix racing. While his run to a strong 10th was a pleasing end to his time in MotoGP, it was what happened at the front of the grid that capped the Italian's ideal send-off
Why MotoGP's under-fire graduate has a point to prove
OPINION: MotoGP-bound Darryn Binder was already under the microscope as his jump from Moto3 to join RNF's new top-class team was announced. But his crash with title hopeful Dennis Foggia caused significant consternation among the ranks - with many current riders suggesting the top level should be harder to break into as a result
How Portugal exposed the biggest threat to Quartararo’s MotoGP title defence
Fabio Quartararo’s first DNF of his title-winning 2021 MotoGP season couldn’t have come at a better time. But the events of the Yamaha rider’s Algarve Grand Prix exposed the M1’s well-known major weakness, which could threaten his championship defence given the increasingly Ducati-heavy makeup of the grid heading into 2022
The financial implications fuelling junior bike racing's dangerous aggression
The pressure shouldered by young riders is at the root of the increased on-track aggression seen in lower categories of late, which motorcycling's governing bodies want to curb with new rules. But will stopping under-18s from racing in the world championship and capping grid sizes prevent the often desperate acts of youths pursuing their MotoGP dreams?
The three factors that crowned MotoGP’s newest champion at Misano
The prospect of Fabio Quartararo clinching the 2021 MotoGP world championship title at Misano appeared small after struggling to 15th in qualifying, while main rival Francesco Bagnaia took pole. Here's how the Yamaha rider turned it around, with help from an ill-fated Bagnaia tyre choice, to secure the crown with two races to spare
Marco Simoncelli: Remembering MotoGP's ultimate maverick 10 years on
Saturday 23 October marks the 10th anniversary of Marco Simoncelli's death. The one-time 250cc world champion and double MotoGP podium finisher was the ultimate maverick character with big hair, a big personality and an even bigger talent. Autosport pays tribute to a much-missed figure, a decade on