Fabio Quartararo says he will no longer help Yamaha with development work pertaining to the 2027 MotoGP season after being denied a chance to test Pirelli’s new tyres.
The 2021 champion made that comment following last weekend’s Aragon Grand Prix, where he felt he was reduced to the role of a “test rider” as Yamaha evaluated several new components.
Quartararo is leaving Yamaha after eight seasons to join Honda next year, having completely lost faith in the Iwata-based manufacturer to turn around its troubled MotoGP bike.
And having spent the first half of the campaign running an underpowered, new V4 engine Yamaha has developed ahead of next year’s switch to 850cc regulations, the 27-year-old feels now is the time to draw a line under his involvement in the bike’s development.
“As far as the future is concerned, I’m not in a position to help. And for personal reasons, I don’t want to help,” he said. “We’re trying to make progress this year. But ultimately, if things don’t improve, there’s not much we can do.”
Quartararo clarified that his frustration stemmed from Yamaha denying him a chance to take part in September’s in-season test at the Red Bull Ring, where race riders will be allowed to sample Pirelli’s new 2027 tyre compounds for only the second time.
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Stephen Blackberry / NurPhoto via Getty Images
When asked to clarify what he meant by “personal reasons”, Quartararo added: “To set the record straight, I don’t know if I should say this, but I’m going to say it anyway: I wanted to do the tests in Austria. But unfortunately, Yamaha don’t want me to ride on Pirelli tyres. I wanted to do something, but they won’t let me.
“Personally, I don’t want to develop the bike for the 2027 riders. So, if we can improve something for this year, I’ll do it. But I’m not going to push myself to the limit and act as a test rider like I did this weekend.”
For riders, getting any experience on the new rubber is crucial, given how different it is expected to be from the current Michelins. But manufacturers have been more reserved about letting their departing riders take part in such in-season tests, as that would also mean letting them sample their new 850cc bikes and potentially taking secrets to other manufacturers.
Even so, during the first official 2027 test at Brno in June, Honda allowed its current riders Luca Marini and Joan Mir to test its 2027 package, complete with Pirelli tyres, despite both moving to rival brands next year.
Likewise, Pedro Acosta led the development of KTM’s 2027 bike in the Czech Republic, even as he prepares to join the factory Ducati Team next year.
Why did Quartararo get so frustrated at Aragon?
Quartararo was tasked with testing a wide variety of developments throughout the Aragon weekend, including a new chassis. But while the introduction of new parts suggested Yamaha was still pushing to close the gap to the front, Quartararo felt the new direction only left the team going backwards.
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
The extensive testing work also complicated what was already expected to be one of the toughest weekends for Quartararo, and he ended up finishing last in Sunday’s race, more than 50 seconds behind winner Marc Marquez.
Asked for his feedback on the new chassis on Saturday, he said: “It’s worse. On Friday, I said it was worse. They wanted to compare again this morning. It was worse.
“I was more of a test rider this weekend. Testing three times the chassis but it was not working. We had a new link also. It was not an improvement.
“I basically ran with a standard bike. But when you jump from one chassis to another, even if the difference is not too big… already the feeling is not there but I was a bit confused. But it is what it is and we are trying to find more performance.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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