The Iwata-based manufacturer has pulled out all stops to convince Quartararo that he won’t be better off at a rival outfit, having managed to renew its contract with the French rider in a move that caught half the paddock by surprise.
Although it is clear that a lucrative €12 million financial offer played a significant part in Quartararo’s decision to stay at Yamaha, the profound changes in the factory’s reaction times also pushed him to sign a contract that will continue till the end of the 2026 season.
To persuade Quartararo to continue his relationship with Yamaha, team boss Lin Jarvis offered the 25-year-old a completely new bike that he will be able to sample this Monday at Jerez, the first official in-season test of 2024.
«Yamaha will test a new engine, a new chassis, a new swingarm and some aerodynamics on Monday at the test, a new bike,» a team member close to the matter told Motorsport.com.
Some of these parts were already tested by the Japanese’s marque’s test and development rider Cal Crutchlow last week in a private test in Barcelona.
«It was a bad test,» said the same source «Again the bad weather [it rained several days] played a trick on us.»
After the Portuguese GP, the marque’s race riders stayed on track for a private test day at Portimao, but bad weather, wind and dirt prevented Quartararo and Rins from completing more than six laps.
At that test, the French manufacturer had only one power unit at its disposal, but on Monday both Quartararo and Rins will have all the new equipment, including engine, chassis, swingarm and aero parts, showing that the Italy-based team has got its act together.
During Monday’s test, the engine will be tested with the current spec-A prototype to see if there is a clear improvement, before the rest of the updates are introduced slowly to compare and understand which ones bring benefits and which ones do not.
During the Barcelona test, the threat of rain forced Yamaha to test everything quickly in the initial laps before the track conditions became too poor for any meaningful running.