Yamaha MotoGP technical boss Max Bartolini says Yamaha will only continue testing on the final day of the Sepang test if it finds a solution to the engine problems that prevented it from running on day two.
Yamaha was already confirmed to be a rider short on the second and third days of the Sepang MotoGP test after Fabio Quartararo broke a finger in his late day one crash.
On Wednesday morning, however, it became apparent that Yamaha’s issues were more fundamental, as it decided not to run with any of its riders on day two of the test owing to safety concerns with its V4 engine.
Running on the third and final day of the test is not yet confirmed, either, as Max Bartolini explained.
“Yesterday, Fabio [Quartararo] had a stop on the track and we checked what was the problem and we didn’t find a real solution,” Bartolini told MotoGP.com.
“We have ideas, but considering the safety of the riders – our riders but also the other riders – for that we decide before to come back on the track what was the problem, what we should do to be safe.
“So, we decide for today not to run and to keep checking and try to figure out for tomorrow.
“Hopefully we find a good solution this evening and we can run tomorrow.”
He added: “I hope we find a solution and I hope the test is not over. We still have to check, we are in contact with Japan, now Italy [is just waking up] so we will get in contact with them as well. “
The problem Yamaha currently has is trying to identify the cause of the problem that has resulted in this disruption.
“What the issue is, [we know]. What caused it we are trying to figure out,” Bartolini said, “because if we have an idea what caused it we already know if we can keep going or not.
“This is what we are trying to figure out. We have an idea of what caused it, but we need confirmation from the factory.”
The cost of not running on Wednesday for Yamaha was increasing its understanding of its fundamentally new YZR-M1.
“Clearly it would be better to not have problems and to use all the track time,” Bartolini said.
“We use in a pretty good way, especially about some parts, the Shakedown and this test. Unfortunately, our plan was to set up better the bike, get used to the bike – because it’s a completely new bike, also for the rider, even for us.
“We spent [much] time trying new parts and for a rider it’s always difficult to try to make a lap time et cetera.
“So, these two days we start to fix the package and let the rider ride, but unfortunately we can’t.
“At the moment I think it’s the less-worse of the two conditions, most of the job is in-part done, so I think it’s a balance we can accept. Riders accept it because we do it in the interest of everybody.”
Even still, Bartolini instists the riders reacted well to the situation.
“Basically, they [the riders] react quite good,” he said.
“Also because, as I explained to them, we know we can fix a problem on the bike but we don’t know how to fix a rider if he has a problem so we prefer to avoid this situation.”
