Michael Scott | November 2, 2018
2018 Malaysian MotoGP Friday News
Yamaha Looking to Smooth Power Delivery
Yamaha riders will have to wait until the Sepang tests kick off the pre-season next year for engine changes aimed at solving the problems that have plagued the 2018 season.
This was revealed by team manager Massimo Meregalli, interviewed by Dorna, and saying that the well-publicized problems with electronics “was not the only point” in their longest winless streak, brought to an end after 25 races by Vinales in last weekend’s Australian GP.
The engine character was also a problem, he said. “It will be smoother next year.
“With these [Michelin] tyres, you have to manage them, so the engine character is very important. By Sepang tests next year we should receive something that will solve the problem.”
Yamaha has not divulged any details as to the cause of the wheelspin that strikes particularly later in races, damaging acceleration; but it is common cause that the 2018 M1 engine has a light crankshaft, leading to abrupt throttle response mid-corner. With engine design frozen, they have been unable to make significant improvements.
Success at Phillip Island, Rossi has said, does not mean the problems are solved. The nature of the track, with fast corners leading into one another, favours the M1’s stronger points rather than relying on acceleration from low speed.
Rossi To Retire Early?
Rossi to quit? Rumours were rife in Malaysia that Yamaha’s multi-champion Valentino Rossi might not see out his full two-year contract, if there is not a radical improvement next year.
The Italian, whose own Australian GP ended in disappointment as he dropped back to sixth, signed up at Qatar at the start of this season, extending his stay until the end of 2020, when he will be 41 years old.
He has made no comment, but talk is that if there is not a radical improvement in 2019, he might call it a day.
Footnote: the same rumour mill suggests that Yamaha YZR-M1 project leader Kouji Tsuya, who led the chorus of public apology at the Austrian GP, is unlikely to return in 2019.
Lorenzo Tests the Waters
Jorge Lorenzo was back at Sepang, and hoping he would be able to see out the weekend. But the omens were not encouraging, with a final decision to come overnight.
With Ducati factory tester Michele Pirro standing by to take over, he ran 13 laps in the morning session and nine in the afternoon, placed last and eventually five seconds off the pace.
The team was making ergonomic and settings changes to try to ease the physical strain of the track, where Lorenzo smashed all records in pre-season testing.
The Spanish multi-champion fractured his left wrist in a Friday crash for the Thai GP four weeks ago, and withdrew from the Japanese GP a fortnight later without setting a timed lap, after a scan revealed the damage to his tibia was worse than thought.
He flew home to Spain where famed GP medic Dr Xavier Mir performed keyhole surgery to repair tendon damage.
On race eve, he explained his plans. “I had the operation eight days ago and it went well. Yesterday I took the cast off. I’ve not been able to move the wrist, so mobility is not good … riding will be difficult, because this track has hard braking.
“But I am going to try. Even if I can’t fight for something big, at least I am on the bike.”
Lorenzo has only this race and the Valencia GP in a fortnight left on the factory Ducati, and will test next year’s Repsol Honda in the week after the final race.
Mr Clean Vinales
Australian GP winner Maverick Vinales showed the evidence of his gambler’s honour at Sepang, in the shape of a freshly shaved scalp. But the slap-head look didn’t sit well with him. “I feel so ugly like this,” he said.
He had pledged to do it if he won the Phillip Island race, and carried out the promise, if reluctantly.
“After I was fastest in the first free practice, I said I thought I could win the race. And I bet that if I did win, I would have this haircut,” he explained.
Bradl Filling In
Cal Crutchlow had successful surgery in Melbourne after the Australian GP, to repair the serious damage to his right ankle after a high-speed crash on Friday afternoon.
Crutchlow was the only seriously injured victim of the fast and daunting Turn One at Phillip Island, with a triple fracture, and doctors needing to wait for the swelling to subside before corrective surgery.
At first an external fixation was put in place, but during the week a more thorough repair was performed.
Crutchlow’s place on the LCR Castrol Honda was taken by former LCR rider Stefan Bradl, currently Honda’s official test rider.
Zarco Fined for Scooter Ride
Johann Zarco, who walked away from a spectacular 280-km/h crash at Turn One at Phillip Island, was hit with a 1,000-Euros fine in Malaysia, after being caught using a scooter for an exploratory lap of the Sepang circuit on Thursday.
A scooter crash here last year that left two riders injured triggered a new rule … that such laps can only be completed on foot or on a cycle.
Who’s In, Who’s Out?
The injury list for the third consecutive race in three weekends was swelled by crashes in Australia. As well as Crutchlow, Moto2 rider Stefano Manzi was out with a wrist fracture; Jaume Masia and Gabriel Rodrigo were out of Moto3, with a right ankle fracture and left arm injuries respectively.
Moto3 rider Nicolo Bulega was still absent, having missed the previous two races after a freak accident at home, putting his hand through a glass table while playing with his dog. The injury required further surgery to repair damaged tendons last week, so teenager Celestino Vietti continues in his place. Vietti was on the podium in his second GP in Australia.
On the brighter side also, Nico Antonelli had returned, after missing the Australian race with back injuries sustained in Japan.
Bezzecchi Sanctioned
Gabriel Rodrigo blamed a racing incident for the crash in the Australian GP that brought down Moto3 title contender Marco Bezzecchi. But the panel of FIM Stewards did not agree – and slapped a sanction on the Argentinean rider.
He was given a six-place grid penalty for “riding in an irresponsible manner”, to be applied at his next 2018 start. Due to his withdrawal injured from the Malaysian GP, it will have to wait until the Valencia finale in two weeks.
Biaggi Confirmed as Moto3 Team Chief for 2019
It’s official. As previously reported, former 250 and World Superbike champion and 500cc/MotoGP winner Max Biaggi is returning to the paddock as team chief next year, taking over the Schedl Moto3 squad currently running Philipp Oettl.
The announcement in the week before the Malaysian race confirmed that current EG-Honda rider Aron Canet has signed for the team, which will mean switching to a KTM.
Max will join the current rider’s father Peter Oettl, also a former GP winner, in running the renamed Max Racing Team.
Suzuki Catches Fire
Fire broke out in the Sepang pit lane on Thursday, after Alex Rins’s Ecstar Suzuki went up in flames as it was being warmed up for a pre-event check-up.
The blaze was caused by a fuel leak, team boss Davide Brivio confirmed, adding: “Luckily the damage was not too serious,”
The bike was rebuilt overnight.
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