Dovizioso: Only Quartararo can ride Yamaha MotoGP bike fast

Three-time championship runner-up Dovizioso embarks on his first full campaign as a Yamaha rider since 2012, after signing with RNF Racing late last year to contest the final five rounds in place of Franco Morbidelli at the formerly known Petronas SRT.

Having ridden a Ducati for eight years between 2013 and 2020, Dovizioso found transitioning to the 2019-spec Yamaha difficult.

Those troubles have continued into 2022 on the latest M1, with Dovizioso 22nd and 1.1 seconds off the pace in last weekend’s Sepang test – with Quartararo top Yamaha in seventh, almost a second clear.

Quartararo was unhappy with the lack of progress made with the 2022 Yamaha, particularly its engine, but Dovizioso explained that it is currently only possible to be fast on the bike by riding like the Frenchman.

“I can’t be happy about the speed and also the pace,” Dovizioso said.

“I mean, I think in this moment there is just the way of Fabio to ride this Yamaha because, it showed last year, but in this two days of testing if you don’t use the bike like him it’s very difficult to be fast.

“It’s very strange, you have to ride in that way to be competitive because there is some really good things of the bike and you have to use it like him in braking and in the middle of the corner.

“But the exit [of the corner], the bike is not that good and you have to don’t use too much the exit to be fast.

“And that’s difficult to be fast in that way like Fabio is doing.

“So, I was trying to study the data, but it’s very difficult to copy the other riders.

“You can be better and you can analyse and understand and it’s something you can do, but to understand you can’t copy the riders.

“You can just be a bit better in some areas where the other riders are better.

“But overall you have to find your way, but it looks like in my opinion there is just that way.

“So, that’s why it takes time for me and still I’m not confident and that happy to get that feeling.”

Further explaining where Quartararo is making time on the Yamaha, Dovizioso added: “He’s braking really good, deep, and makes a lot of speed in the middle of the corners and letting the bike go.

“He doesn’t try to use a lot the rear grip to accelerate fast. He tries to do the lap time on the braking and the middle of the corners. And he’s really good at that.”