Fabio Quartararo believes Yamaha’s fuel consumption problem significantly compromised his Japanese Grand Prix, forcing him to sacrifice pace as he struggled to make it to the finish at Motegi.
The 2021 MotoGP world champion finished 12th at Yamaha’s home race, matching his qualifying position and ending the Grand Prix as the manufacturer’s highest-placed rider. However, Quartararo revealed that the result did not reflect the pace he could have shown without the fuel concerns.
The problem emerged as early as lap seven, leaving the Frenchman unable to use full throttle on several key sections of the circuit.
“It was difficult because from lap seven I had a fuel issue, so it was not the best way,” Quartararo explained. “I could go much faster but unfortunately I had to take care a lot about the throttle.”
Quartararo said he was limited to roughly 70% throttle from Turn 2 to Turn 3, as well as on both the back straight and the main straight. The restrictions cost him valuable speed throughout the race.
The issue was particularly frustrating because Quartararo had already been concerned about fuel consumption even while riding in the slipstream of another rider early in the race. Once he lost the aerodynamic benefit of the slipstream, the situation became even more difficult.
He said he had not expected the problem to appear so early and was unsure whether Yamaha had simply underestimated its fuel requirements for the race.
The fuel concerns added to another weakness in Yamaha’s current package. Quartararo acknowledged that the bike was also lacking top-end power, meaning the manufacturer was losing ground on the straights while simultaneously having to conserve fuel.
“We're missing top power and unfortunately we have a lot of consumption,” he said.
Source: Crash.net
The situation was reflected across Yamaha’s race performance, with all four of its riders occupying the bottom four positions for top speed.
Quartararo also described the fuel warning system as a constant concern during the race. His dashboard repeatedly indicated that he was close to the limit, forcing him to adjust his riding whenever he tried to increase the pace.
“It’s never really easy to understand if I will finish the race or not,” he said, explaining that the warning repeatedly returned whenever he pushed harder.
Despite the difficulties, Quartararo said he was satisfied with his own riding, which he considered one of the few positives from the weekend.
His 12th-place finish also made him Yamaha’s best representative, with Alex Rins finishing 16th. The result therefore provided little relief for a manufacturer still searching for more performance from its new package.
The fuel problem is particularly significant because it appears alongside Yamaha’s existing lack of straight-line performance. Instead of simply needing more power, the manufacturer must also find a way to improve efficiency so its riders can use the performance available to them throughout an entire race.
For Quartararo, the Motegi weekend offered another reminder of the limitations of his current Yamaha package. With the Frenchman set to move to Honda for 2027, his remaining races with Yamaha will be closely watched as both rider and manufacturer look to end their partnership on a stronger note.
