amcn.com.au 77
YAMAHA HAD ONE of its
worst MotoGP seasons in
- The factory has been
hurt more than any other
by 2016’s tectonic shift in
technical regulations. In the
two seasons since, Yamaha has
won 10 MotoGP races, one less
than they won in 2015 alone.
This was particularly strange
because Viñales started his
first season with the factory by
winning the first two races, with
Rossi also on the podium.
After that they lost their way.
The 2017 M1 performed well
on high-grip tracks but was a
disaster on slippery surfaces.
Rossi and Viñales each raced
four different chassis during
2017, searching for a way out
of the hole into which they had
fallen. Both riders could choose
whichever 2017 chassis they
wanted, but both suffered from
corner entry to corner exit.
“It was a terrible season
because we found that the
2017 bike wasn’t 100 per cent
for Valentino,” says Rossi’s
crew chief Silvano Galbusera.
“Yamaha changed the chassis
a little bit, with different
geometry and similar stiffness,
but Valentino never had the
feeling he had in 2016.
“In 2016 Valentino’s feeling
with the bike was good, but
we destroyed the rear tyre
with four or five laps to go,
depending on the track. The
chassis was modified for 2017,
but Valentino lost the feeling
he had in 2016, so he couldn’t
go into corners quickly and
keep his line. Then he couldn’t
pick up the bike, so he was a bit
delayed, then he had to open
the throttle more to recover
time, which destroyed the tyre.
It’s a vicious circle!
“We tried to save the tyre
by reducing torque delivery,
which was good, but then we
lost acceleration. This was the
critical moment: Valentino
couldn’t use all the power
from the engine becausethe tyre couldn’t handle the
acceleration without spinning.”
Viñales’ season nosedived
when the harder-construction
front tyre was introduced
in June. Although Yamaha
focused most of its attention
on improving mechanical grip,
Galbusera believes electronics
are the real issue.“I think Honda and Ducati
discovered something to help
the rear of the bike: when the
rider picks up the bike, the
system recognises this and then
they can push. If you listen to
their bikes you hear less cutting
noise from the electronics, so
they have better acceleration.
Yamaha needs to work on the
electronics to find something
like this – we need acceleration
without destroying the tyre.”
Insult was added to injury
by Johann Zarco, who often
beat the factory Movistar
riders aboard a 2016 M1. The
Frenchman’s super-smooth
throttle control helped him
avoid the tyre degradation that
had been such a problem for
Rossi and Lorenzo in 2016. To
underline the confusion within
the factory team, Rossi and
Viñales reverted to their 2016
chassis at the season finale, but
results weren’t much better.
Even worse, Zarco was given
the factory team’s unloved
2017 chassis at the post-season
test and said it was a huge
improvement. Yamaha have
more work to do than anyone
for 2018, a task complicated
by having three very fast riders
who all want different things
from their bikes.YAMAHA
Wins 4
Points 321
Final position 2ndWhile Yamaha finished second in the
Constructor standings, they often
finished behind both Honda and
Ducati on race day. Galbusera (below)
and his crew are determined to set
that right this year
Vicious circle