MotoGP – Viñales chief mechanic explains why Zarco is better on a satellite Yamaha

Bruno Gomes

May 23, 2018

Johann Zarco has been better than the factory riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales

We’ve seen it last year, and again this year Johann Zarco on a satellite Yamaha M1 is doing much better than the official factory Yamaha riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi. Many of us don’t understand how can a rider on a satellite bike that’s supposed to be one step behind in terms of evolution compared to the factory Yamaha’s, be so fast and getting better results.

But, as usual, there’s always an explanation. And who better to give that explanation than Viñales chief mechanic Ramon Forcada.

He says that the key to understand why Zarco is feeling so good on the satellite Yamaha M1 is because he uses a different engine than the engine used at the factory bikes

“Zarco’s bike has a different engine, and that’s it. When we tried to do a new bike, we asked the official riders to choose one of different engines and they opted for one. The problem is that the engine needs to be the same for the team. And then you have to get two riders like Maverick and Valentino, where one is taller and heavier, and rides the bike with a different style, to agree on which engine to use. This doesn’t happen with chassis, the tyres or the electronic”.

Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales continue to have grip problems on their bikes

Forcada goes on saying that it’s not just one thing that is causing problems on the factory bikes, it’s many different things that are creating the poor grip levels that Viñales and Rossi complain about.

“If we have just one problem, like for example with the electronic, it would be easy to fix by using last year electronic, but the problem is that the engine is different. We need to make the electronic work with the new engine. With this electronic we can’t use all the grip that the tyre has. And that’s, basically, our main problem”.

During some pre-season tests the official Yamaha riders tested an engine that works better with the electronic package, but they’re not using that engine. Why?

According to Ramon Forcada, Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales did in fact feel much better with that different engine, a unit that is more like the one used by Johann Zarco. But that test happened too late into the pre-season, and although Yamaha Japan knows what they need to do, they had no more time to produce those engines before the start of the season.

Johann Zarco continues to enjoy a good feeling with the satellite Yamaha M1

So, and according to the technical rules, this season the team will need to continue using the same engine they’re using right now, and the same electronic package. They will continue developing the new engine during this season, so they can use it 2019, hopefully with better feeling for Viñales and Rossi.

Do you believe Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi will be able to overcome the grip problems they feel right now on their Yamaha M1’s?

Give us your opinion on the comments below!