MotoGP paddock inside: Why Yamaha is suddenly nowhere again

It came as no surprise that Marc Marquez would dominate the practice day at MotorLand Aragon. The track layout suits his riding style. Furthermore, the new asphalt offers little grip, even in its second year. It was also dirty in places, especially off the racing line.

This caused the balance of power in the field to change. Suddenly, three KTM riders made it comfortably into Q2, while Yamaha was completely lost. After three pole positions in a row, Fabio Quartararo's frustration was clearly visible.

The Frenchman suffered severe skids several times in the fast corners. His fellow Mercedes drivers also had similar problems. 15th place for Alex Rins, 16th place for Jack Miller , and 18th place for Fabio Quartararo clearly show that something went terribly wrong.

The problem worsened with the soft tire at the end. "We need to understand why our bike changes completely when we change tires—and why our electronics then go crazy," Quartararo says, highlighting the key issue.

He believes the M1's basic setup is fine. The other three Yamaha riders also confirm that the electronics are the major problem. The soft tire ultimately made it unrideable.

"You enter the corner, everything is under control," Miller describes. "And at the exact moment the load transfer begins—just when the bike should actually be starting to stabilize again—the electronics apply the full engine brake."

"Then you have this massive slide. And when you ride a soft tire, you have more grip. That triggered a chain reaction here." None of the four Yamaha riders were able to complete a decent qualifying lap as a result.

Quartararo even considered running his time attack on the medium rear tire, as the electronics were acting up with the soft tire. Now it remains to be seen whether the engineers will find better mapping for Saturday.

Test rider Augusto Fernandez compares two versions of the inline four-cylinder engine. He didn't notice any significant differences, though. Yamaha is collecting additional data from all five riders with different swingarms to better understand the general grip issue.

Acosta wonders: Why is KTM suddenly so far ahead?

So, while Yamaha has a lot of homework to do, KTM put three riders in the spotlight in Q2. This came as a surprise to me, because two weeks ago at Silverstone, no rider made it into the top 10 on Friday, and no one made it from Q1 to Q2 on Saturday either.

"Yes, but we have to understand," Pedro Acosta insists, "why we were so lost two weeks ago—and now three of us are in Q2. We have to analyze that. When grip is extremely low, everyone's level drops—and ours rises."

It could well be that KTM's good result was due to the special conditions in Aragon. Maverick Vinales spoke of an imbalance between the front and rear wheels. The soft rear tire put pressure on the front wheel.

Brad Binder still had severe understeer in the morning. A setup change improved things in the afternoon session. "Instead of the bike understeering right from the start, it basically understeered later," he tried to explain. "That helped."

Binder qualified directly for Q2 for only the second time this season. Is this the breakthrough he's been hoping for after the recent difficult weeks? "Well, maybe on this track. I don't know what it's like elsewhere," he says.

"But yes, it felt like I had a little more confidence when turning in, that the front wheel wouldn't just slip away. It was a small step – but one that made a big difference." At least in Aragon, good results should be possible for KTM, perhaps even a podium finish.

Little grip, little vibration: Advantage for Honda

In addition to KTM, Honda will also play a role in the chasing group of the Marquez brothers in both races. Johann Zarco beamed after practice, confirming that he is in the top 6 on different tracks and in different conditions.

Joan Mir's lap, which tied with Vinales for third place, was also strong. Since the beginning of the season, Mir has repeatedly shown flashes of potential, but due to crashes or other circumstances, he has never been able to translate it into top results. This time, it worked.

However, the special conditions in Aragon also benefit Honda. With generally lower grip, vibrations from the rear wheel are less pronounced. Aleix Espargaro said weeks ago that Honda could fight for the podium without vibrations.

Zarco recently underlined this at Silverstone. Now Mir is in the lead. "I haven't understood why I was the one with the least traction among the Honda riders."

"And now," says Mir, "for some reason—thanks to some changes we made—we're finally getting better traction. That was the difference between struggling to even get into Q2—or going in so comfortably like we did today."

Again the qualifying attempt the Aprilia problem

I expect a thrilling battle between the KTM trio and the two Honda riders. Whoever ultimately prevails could well celebrate on the podium. Marco Bezzecchi also showed quite good race pace on the Aprilia.

But it's the same old pattern. Stability issues arise during qualifying: "As soon as I try to set a fast lap, I just can't find the necessary pace. There are tracks where we suffer more from it, and others where it's less of an issue."

Things won't be easy for Bezzecchi in Q1. Fabio Di Giannantonio is considered a contender for one of the top two spots, but this time I'd also consider Enea Bastianini. And if Yamaha solves the electronics issues and Quartararo pulls off a magical lap...

Where Marc Marquez takes the decisive lead

When we talk about magic laps, we're obviously talking about Marc Marquez today. His one-second lead in the first practice session was a demonstration of power. He's able to adapt to slippery conditions from a standstill.

The other drivers needed a little more time, which narrowed the gap over the course of the day. He made the difference in the left-hand sections of turns 9 and 10. "Yes, in Turn 10 both tires were sliding – front and rear. And that's exactly where I made the difference compared to the others."

In this second sector, Marc Márquez gained two-tenths of a second over his rivals. Interestingly, Bastianini set the fastest time in the third sector, where the Corkscrew corner is located. There, he was even a tenth better than Marc Márquez!

And what about Francesco Bagnaia? He tried the long Öhlins front fork, which many riders use, including Marc Márquez. Bagnaia abandoned it long ago because he didn't get as good a feel as he did with the standard fork.

Out of necessity, he tried it again, but his feeling for the front wheel didn't improve. In the second sector alone, Bagnaia lost four-tenths of a second to his teammate. There's no improvement in sight for his situation in Aragon either.

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