Technical director Max Bartolini delivers blunt lowdown on how to fix Yamaha

The arrival of Max Bartolini at Yamaha this year was seen as a key step for the manufacturer to finally progress again.

The slump of the MotoGP powerhouse over the past year is being addressed and the acquisition of Bartolini as their new technical director was a major coup.

Bartolini left Ducati, where he had been for 20 years, to take on an important job in fixing Yamaha’s woes.

Evolution or revolution

Bartolini answered whether the Yamaha M1 requires a total overhaul or just a tweak to address its weaknesses.

"I'm trying to understand how Yamaha works, to take advantage of the strong points that still exist, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time,” he told Sky Italia.

“We're then trying to understand what can be done.

“It's clear that, as long as the engine architecture remains different, the motorbike is radically different.

“And therefore many concepts that were used at Ducati are very difficult to apply here.

“However, many others are common and can be transported - I am thinking of the aerodynamic balances or the way of work on the electronics, which can be updated and improved compared to how we are now.”

Bartolini added: “We have identified the areas where we can improve.

“A gap of 7-8 tenths takes time to recover and is spread across all areas.

“We are working on it, we are producing some material and we are trying to bring together my experience, which is purely European, and that of Yamaha.

“The idea is to bring together the good of both working methods, to try to close the gap in a reasonable time."

The trend in MotoGP is that the two Japanese goliaths, Yamaha and Honda, have fallen behind the three European manufacturers - including Aprilia and KTM, who do not have the same illustrious history in the sport.

"More than being left behind, in some fields they may have underestimated the impact of the new aspects that the Europeans have developed, in particular Ducati but also KTM and Aprilia,” Bartolini said.

“But now this has been understood and we are trying to invest to cover the gap.

“It's clear that if you start a year or a year and a half later to invest heavily in some areas, you need some time to close the gap. It's quite normal."

The impact of aerodynamics

"Aerodynamics add force to the bike, so it's about raising the limit of the bike,” Bartolini explained.

“For riders, riding a bike with aerodynamics can be the same or even worse in terms of feeling.

“In my opinion, the current MotoGP bikes and today's riders are so much at the limit that the difference that efficient aerodynamics can add to you is such as to justify several tenths.

“Quantifying them exactly is not easy, but if you cannot have similar loads or similar aerodynamic effects it is difficult to cover that gap generated by the aerodynamics with other areas. Today, aerodynamics are necessary."

2027 regulations

Yamaha are trying to improve their flailing bike but know that, in 2027, the playing field could change because new regulations will come into effect.

Yamaha are balancing investment into today’s rules and investment into the future.

"This is obviously taken into account,” Bartolini said.

“We are trying to bring development in the direction of the new 2027 regulation, which in any case is quite aligned with the current one.

“We are trying to invest appropriately in things that will disappear such as lowering devices, but understand the real concept of aerodynamics and trying to optimise it.

“Understanding the concept on the engine, understanding the concept on the chassis are things that you can transport to 2027.

“The investment is made on technologies that will in any case be used in three years' time.”

Yamaha satellite team?

Yamaha hope to add a satellite team to the 2025 grid.

The addition of two more riders and bikes would give them valuable data and speed up the progression of the project.

Bartolini said: "With such a demanding championship, even if you have the concessions and can make the official riders run, the truth is that you manage to make them run very little.

“First of all they are men and they have to recover, it is impossible to make them ride continuously. And then it's still difficult with such limited time.

“It would be essential to have a satellite team, to try to carry out more things on more riders and also for the riders themselves, to have comparisons and better regulate their choices and the areas where they can improve.”