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Yamaha needs to change pace to be able to catch up to its rivals and to build its future. Lin Jarvis knows it well: there is Quartararo to keep and a satellite team to find, to do this you need a fast bike. Even the Japanese seem to have understood this and the many collaborations with Italian engineers indicate the desire to change. The important thing is to be able to do it quickly.
Lin, how much will the concessions help you?
“In our case I think they could be very useful because we only have two riders and therefore we don't have enough information. This advantage has already allowed us to select some parts even before the official tests begin, we are one step ahead and for us it is essential. During the season, the advantages will depend on our ability to try and bring new things to accelerate development."
How will the arrival of Massimo Bartolini from Ducati affect you?
“It is a part of an overall process that started in 2022 when we began collaborating with Luca Marmorini and his staff to help us develop the engine. The second phase was more recent, dating back to last August, when we began the partnership with Dallara to assist us with aerodynamics, a field in which we were behind. Then we hired Marco Nicotra from Ducati, who joined us in October and is head of the current aerodynamic department which is based in Italy and now Bartolini. He joined us on January 9th and immediately went to Japan to get to know the people and our work system. Of course, we can't change everything overnight, but we know that we need to change, to accelerate, to be less conservative and to open our minds."
Are you on the right track?
“Our efficiency in a test or race weekend must improve and Max brings us experience and knowledge from the outside to create a system not similar to Ducati's, but a new one. Bartolini will be at the same level as Matsuda (the new MotoGP Project Leader, ed.) and it is quite unusual, it had never happened in Yamaha before."
What will Bartolini's role be?
“Max will be the one in command, the one who will make the decisions during the race weekend. Usually having two bosses is never positive, but Matsuda will have a central role in the garage and coordination between what happens on the track, Italy and Japan."
During the team presentation you compared this season to 2004, when Rossi arrived, do you think we are at the beginning of a new era for Yamaha?
“It's not a direct comparison because Rossi's arrival was something huge, a big bet and a big risk, and we had to redesign the bike, that was the beginning of a new era. The similarity is that we were coming from a very difficult season, we hadn't won a single race, and we had to change. I remember a discussion, we said that whatever we did, if Valentino hadn't arrived we wouldn't have had any chance, because at that time he was a phenomenon."
And now?
“The situation is different, there are many competitive riders and, even if we come from a difficult year, we are not that far away on a technical level. We are missing small things in many areas, which is why we need to change to become competitive again. Talking about a new era is perhaps a little too much, better to talk about a new approach, a new system. In Yamaha Italy we have many engineers, they increase every year, and we must combine Italian aggression with Japanese precision. That's what we hope to do."
Do you think you can get back to winning ways quickly?
“I have to hope so, but I'm also realistic and we know the level is very high at the moment, especially that of Ducati which has 8 very competitive riders. It won't be easy, but we have to quickly get back to the podium frequently, even winning a few races, it's a process. You need time to get worse and you need time to improve, we will give our best, but it will be difficult to beat the Rossa this year."
You will also have to think about rider contracts and looking for a satellite team.
“There are 19 riders without a contract at the moment, it will be very exciting to watch the races and the work off the track will also be very complicated. As for the teams, there are 3 whose contracts are expiring, LCR, Pramac and VR46. We need a second team and riders and therefore we need to be competitive, or at least convince them that we are making progress with our investments. You don't sign a contract for the current motorcycle, but for the one you expect to have. It's like when Hamilton decided to go to Mercedes, I didn't believe it, but he knew something, that that car would be been competitive in the future. So we have to convince the riders and the satellite team of our capabilities, of our intentions for the future."
Do you have a deadline to conclude with a satellite team?
“At the latest mid-season, I would say the ideal would be in June, around the Assen GP.”
There are also many rumours about your future…
“This will be my 25th year as Managing Director of the factory team and I'm not getting any younger (laughs). In a moment I will have to make a change and I will have to prepare the transition, that is what I will do and I can say that this season I will maintain my role, then we will see. We are in a selection process to understand who can take my place."
What characteristics should your successor have?
“It will be a person who is in Yamaha, we are not looking externally. His nationality is not important, but his mentality, his experience."
