Yamaha’s issue𝕴s in MotoGP have generally boiled down to one of two things🍰 in recent years: power, and grip.

In Austria, Fabio Quartararo was not complaining about horsepower follow𒅌ing the Sprint. Instead, it was grip in the opening laps that had cost the #20.

“Checking our pace this morning [in FP2], it was not so bad,” Quartararo said. “Riding alone, we know that our strong point is braking. With nobody✱ in front, we brake super hard in Turn 1, 2, 3, 4, and 9, but wi🅷th people in front of us this is more complicated.

“As usual in a Sprint, in the first laps when everyone is pushing like it's a time attack to create a gap to the riders behind, we don't have t🐷his extra grip.

“I defended my position a lot, but I made mistakes. A﷽fter the first lap, I was in a good position, P10, but it was difficult to maintain it.

“Then ꧑there were circumstances that made the Sprint pretty tough, but we did the best we could do today.”

Rins retires

Quartararo’s issues were not entirely shared by his teaཧmmate Alex Rins, who had made bike changes to his YZR-M1 to try to help him control the rear lifting in the Red Bull Ring’s several hard braking zones.

“I had a good start,” Rins said, “but lap by lap I was struggling to ride the bike. I tried a different setting for ⭕the Sprint to avoid the rear lifting, but it wasn't good.”

Rins retired on lapꦏ 10, but after he pulled out of the British Grand Prix two weeks ago through continued injury problems, this time it was a problem with the b🌳ike that saw Rins retire.

“It was tough, I had a mechanical problem on t🔯he bike,” Rins said. “I felt the bike was slow. I tried to understand what happened, but when I noticed less and less pow🃏er, I headed to the box to maybe save this engine. Physically I was ok.”