– The MotoGP weekend at MotorLand Aragon has been very difficult and disappointing for Yamaha and especially for Fabio Quartararo so far. It has never been a good track for the former world champion, as a fifth place in his rookie season 2019 was his best result to date.
Read more Marquez attack in turn 1 decides Aragon sprint: «That was my plan!»
Quartararo finished Friday practice 1.3 seconds behind in 16th place. Even in Q1, the jump to Q2 remained out of reach. He qualified 17th. For comparison: Jack Miller was the best Yamaha rider with 13th on the grid.
Quartararo was also at the back of the field in the sprint. In the fifth lap, he rolled out with a smoking Yamaha: engine failure. At that time, he was in 16th place.
“At the start, the engine almost stalled, I felt something strange,” the Frenchman describes. He knew he probably wouldn’t make it to the finish: “On the straight, I could feel the engine power dropping.”
“So I knew it would explode at some point.” That happened at the end of the fifth lap when the V4 engine spectacularly broke down. Since Quartararo immediately pulled off the track, no oil got onto the track surface.
The table with the engines used by each rider is only published after a race weekend. Immediately after the sprint, Quartararo himself did not know how many kilometers this engine had already clocked.
“I don’t know if it was used or not, but the whole weekend this bike was really slow. I hope it was an engine with high mileage.”
Yamaha is allowed to use ten engines per rider and season in concession rank D. Before the Aragon weekend, he had already used seven engines in his quota. One engine has already been deducted from this quota.
There was already an engine problem at the season opener in Buriram. Now Quartararo lost a second engine. If he has to use an eleventh engine in the rest of the season, the penalty would be a start from the pit lane.
Read more IndyCar Milwaukee 2026: Mick Schumacher fourth again in qualifying
What really annoys and frustrates Quartararo
The engine failure was the last straw for the 27-year-old on this frustrating Aragon weekend, as things he tested again in practice led to nothing.
“We had to test many things during the weekend. So I jumped from one bike to another. This weekend was more about testing than looking for performance.”
Quartararo tried a chassis and a linkage, but both are not good according to his assessment: “Yesterday I said the chassis was worse. They wanted to compare it again this morning. It was worse.”
“We tested the chassis three times, but it didn’t work. We also had a new linkage. It wasn’t better. But it is what it is, and we try to find more performance.”
That he has to test the same things so often annoys Quartararo because it was already clear to him that they do not represent progress: “We tested them several times – three times even. I already said the first time that it was not good.”
“We tried it a second time, then a third time. Now we are back to the standard bike.” The many comparison tests in Aragon also prevented Quartararo from getting a good feeling for the bike and more performance.
That is why he uses clear words: “Definitely, I am not able to help in the future. And for personal reasons, I also don’t feel like it. We try to improve this year. But if the situation ultimately does not improve, we can’t do much.”
Next year, Quartararo, who was world champion with Yamaha in 2021, will move to the Honda factory team.
Read more Lando Norris: New Prime Video documentary promises exclusive insights from 2027
