Why MotoGP 2022's dawn will put Quartararo's complaints to the test

After the celebrations for his first MotoGP world championship title last year, Fabio Quartararo has focused on highlighting the lack of speed of the Yamaha with which he will try to defend his crown; complaints that the Qatar circuit will adjust to reality when the 2022 season begins this weekend.

Since he got on the 2022 bike in the first winter test at Jerez in November the week after the curtain was closed on the 2021 season in Valencia, the Frenchman went on to highlight the lack of top speed of his M1, especially when cross-examining his data with those of the all-powerful Ducati.

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As the weeks went by, the reigning world champion hardened his statements to the level of maximum crudeness, which was precipitated at the end of the last day of the pre-season in Indonesia.

"It's disappointing that we have had so much time to develop the engine and we have nothing," Quartararo fumed at the end of pre-season testing earlier in February.

"I don't understand that the average speed we lose on any circuit to the fastest is always 10 kilometres per hour. It doesn't matter if the straight is a hundred metres or a kilometre long, we don't go below that figure."

Quartararo's M1 reached 'only' 305 kilometres per hour [190mph], 9.8kph down on Johann Zarco's Ducati to leave him stuck in 17th place on the top speed charts. Only four bikes proved to be slower than Quartararo's at the Mandalika test: two of them were Yamahas - team-mate Franco Morbidelli and RNF Racing's Andrea Dovizioso - while RNF rookie Darryn Binder's bike, the 2021 specification of the M1, tied with Quartararo at 305 kph.

These figures certify an obvious lack of muscle of the 2022 M1 when compared to the competition. However, good results are not only the result of the straight-line sections and, if the vehemence in Quartararo's statements caught the eye, they could have been considered incongruous after examining his performance at Mandalika.

Fabio Quartararo was openly critical of Yamaha's lack of developments on top speed during pre-season testing

Photo by: MotoGP

And that was certainly the case on the last day - during which he put in a total 79 laps, the third highest count of anyone. That Sunday, the rider from Nice finished with the second-best absolute time, just 14 thousandths of a second behind test pacesetter Pol Espargaro on the revamped Honda.

And Quartararo was one of the most consistent drivers, according to the analysis of the long runs. He was the one who completed the most laps - 48 - in the hypothetical rhythm that, on paper, those who want to fight for the victory in March's Indonesian Grand Prix will have to maintain.

With all this data on the table, it is normal that there are those who consider the current champion's laments somewhat disproportionate, and look for some other reason to justify it. It is in this context that it is perhaps easy to realise that his contract with Yamaha expires at the end of this season, and that both parties are immersed in negotiations to extend it.

Depending on how Quartararo positions himself, the problem he will face will be how to overtake the rivals in front of him, especially if they are on a Ducati or a Honda

It is worth noting that the #20 rider always made it clear that before signing the renewal he wanted to ride the new M1, so that he could evaluate the work done by the engineers over the winter. His verdict has left no room for doubt, so much so that he has even remarked that his future "is open" when asked about it in Indonesia, even though his options of joining any other team are scarce, both because of the market situation and because of his high - albeit well-deserved - salary.

At this point, it's necessary to find an element that clarifies the claims made by Quartararo. No rider is satisfied with the top speed of their bike, especially since it's considered as lap time that 'comes for free'. In that sense, there is no better setting than the Losail circuit to act as a gauge of these complaints. In theory it is a track favourable to the Ducati's superb power, with a straight where any bike lacking speed should have no defence against the Desmosedici. But despite this, the previous two races held there in 2021, were won by two Yamaha riders.

Yamaha took a clean sweep of wins in Qatar last year, with Fabio Quartararo charging through the field to win the Doha GP

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Maverick Vinales stormed to victory in the opening round of the 2021 campaign on his factory M1, while Quartararo took victory in the following Doha Grand Prix having been forced to fight through from the lower reaches of the top 10 after a sluggish start.

"It's much easier for a rider to point out the lack of top speed of the bike he's riding than, say, the lack of handling," one of the paddock's most experienced engineers told Autosport. "The top speed is on paper, and, whether you like it or not, that gives more strength to their claims because everyone can see it."

With all the reservations that any analysis of the Qatar Grand Prix always deserves, since it takes place in unique conditions - at night, on a track that is usually very dirty due to the desert sand and with strong gusts of wind - the first round of the 2022 campaign will give a slight idea of the level of each rider and bike on the grid, and of the impact of the eight Ducatis that will make up a third of the entire grid.

Its enormous power will complicate the work of the riders of the other brands a little more, especially in Saturday's qualifying. Depending on how Quartararo positions himself, the problem he will face will be how to overtake the rivals in front of him, especially if they are on a Ducati or a Honda.

And depending on how he finishes that debut in Qatar, the harshness of the statements he has been releasing in the last month may well fall short and certify that, indeed, Yamaha has a big problem.

All eyes will be on the defending MotoGP world champion and how he reacts at the season opener

Photo by: MotoGP