MotoGP: Complete and utter destruction by Yamaha at Misano, can they be stopped?
Yamaha’s 1-2-3-4 is the first time Yamaha have locked out the top 4 in a qualifying session since 1988.
Since Jerez, Yamaha have struggled, not performing at Brno and having major braking, cornering, acceleration issues plus more as confirmed by Fabio Quartararo.
However, at Misano, their woes have been fixed at a track which suits them well, not forgetting the new resurfacing of the track which favours Yamaha and their strengths. In qualifying, they managed a 1-2-3-4, unseen by Yamaha in the new era of MotoGP with Maverick Vinales obliterating the lap record on the way.
Vinales is joined by Franco Morbidelli then Fabio Quartararo on the front row whilst home hero Valentino Rossi starts from P4, Yamaha comfortably taking the lead of the session.
Yamaha have topped every since practice session all weekend with Vinales leading FP1, Quartararo leading FP2, Valentino Rossi leading FP3 then Quartararo again leading FP4 before qualifying, it is clear to see that Misano has unlocked their potential, the same way Jerez did.
You see, Misano is similar to Jerez, there are not too many places which truly test the Yamaha at Misano, the bike is famous for being able to corner well and with Misano having many slow and tight corners, it allows the Yamaha riders to purr along effortlessly with Fabio Quartararo being a joy to watch on track with his Jorge Lorenzo-esque style, hitting every apex and looking like he’s not even trying, even on the fastest lap of the session.
Quartararo getting it stopped
Misano also does not have too many long straights, of course, there are turns 11, 12 and 13 which are all kinks on a long straight, these corners are incredibly fast but do not slow Yamaha down, Yamaha struggle with top end speed, but not so much with acceleration, therefore these kinks on the straight help to keep the top speed down, but allow the Yamaha’s to cut through them using their cornering ability.
Yamaha’s pace is mighty fast at Misano with the track clearly favouring their bike, is there anyone who can stop them on race day?
Featured image – www.motogp.com
