MotoGP – Losail QP1 – Tamada missing in Qualifying

The second day of testing for the Qatar GP took place under a sky veiled by some clouds, with temperatures of 30°C (48°C for the asphalt) and a humidity rate of 39%. The Konica Minolta Honda Team rider, Makoto Tamada, completed 21 laps today in the final hour of qualifying in the afternoon. The best time in qualifying trim was 1'57.891” which will allow Tamada to line up in 16th position on the grid. The 20 minutes of the Warm Up tomorrow morning will have to be fully exploited to verify the latest changes, given that even today's performance cannot be considered satisfactory.

Gianluca Montiron – General Director

“We are going through a very particular moment. On this same circuit, during last year's Winter Tests, Makoto, in simulating the race, lapped at a pace of 1'57.5", approximately two tenths of a second better than the time achieved today in qualifying trim. Since last year, both the bike and the tires have evolved significantly, so the performance gap is even more pronounced than the stopwatch suggests. The crash reported on the test day in Jerez on March 27th had a negative impact, exaggerating the problem of lack of feeling when entering corners. The Konica Minolta Honda Team is constantly working to allow Makoto to ride his RC211V more effectively. Our determination to get out of this situation, which had never occurred in the previous three years of working together, is very strong. We will ensure that the team spirit on which our team is based can provide Makoto with the necessary support to quickly forget this moment so poor in results."

Makoto Tamada

“Today, the changes made to the suspension settings allowed me to be faster but did not solve the problem I have with the front end when entering corners. Tomorrow morning, together with the technicians of the Konica Minolta Honda Team, we will try to improve the situation, even if I really couldn't imagine finding myself so far from the leaders after qualifying for the second GP of the season.”

Giulio Bernardelle – Technical Director

“Makoto's problem is the feeling with the front when entering the corner. This deficiency is magnified when soft tires are used for a long time, because the greater grip of the rear tire determines a more marked natural tendency towards understeer. Today, during the qualifying session and in race trim, the performance improved by about a second, but we are still far from having a sufficiently fast pace.”

Konica Minolta Honda