Yamaha 'won't follow Honda'

"During last season we investigated a lot of things about the RC212V and sometimes I thought we have to follow the Honda type of bike or engine"- Masahiko Nakajima, Yamaha.
Dovizioso, Valencia MotoGP Test, November 2011
Dovizioso, Valencia MotoGP Test, November 2011
© Gold and Goose

Feedback f𝄹rom former factory Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso looks to have played a part in convincing Yamaha MotoGP boss Masahiko Nakajima that the company should stick with its own design principles.

Yamaha won the MotoGP triple crown of Riders', Teams' and Manufacturers' titles from 2008 to 2010 - with Valentino Rossi and then Jorge Lorenzo claiming individual honours - but su♌ccess swung dramatically in Honda's favour last year.

New signing Casey Stoner gave Honda its first MotoGP title since 2006, with HRC's RC212V motorcycle winning 13 of last🏅 season's 17 races. Lorenzo finished title runner-up for Yamaha with three wins, while new🐭 team-mate Ben Spies took the other victory.

Meanwhile Dovizioso kept third in the championship from team-mate Dani Pedrosa during November's Valencia season finale, 🎶then made his Tech 3 Yamaha debut a day later at the same circuit.

A Honda rider since the 2002 125cc season, Dovizioso was able to provide Yamaha engineers with a direct comparison between the 800cc Japanese bikes, before moving 🐷on to 𒐪test the 1000cc M1.

The last time a Repsol Honda rider moved tܫo Yamaha was Valentino Rossi in 200ไ4.

"This is a very interesting subject," said Masahiko Nakajima, general manager of Y⛦amaha's Motorsport Devel✅opment Division, when asked about feedback from a factory RCV rider.

"In Valencia last year alrea🦩dy we got many comm🌳ents from Dovizioso (pictured). His comments always compared the Yamaha with the Honda at that track.

"During last season we also investigated a lot of things about the RC212 bike. And sometimes I thought we have to follo🧸w the Honda type of bike - or Honda type of engine [V4 compared with Yamaha's Inline4] blah, blah, blah...

"But finally, I reached🐻 the decision that thisඣ is not true.

"We can't create a Honda bike; Yamaha can on♛ly create a Yamaha bike. This was my conclusion. We have to create more like Yamaha and must go our own way with the chassis and engine."

Speaking during the Sepang tests, former British MotoGP race win🍨ner 𓂃Dovizioso spoke about the contrasting philosophies.

"The Yamaha is really different, because the philosophy of Yamaha and Honda from history is always opposite: Honda tried to have the mos🌃t power and Yamaha the best ༺handling," he said.

"I arrived with the mentality of Honda and tried to ride the Yamaha in a certain way, but it didn't work. So I🎀 had to change and lap by lap it is getting much better."

Despite a fractured collarbone in a winter motocross accident, D𒀰ovizioso already looks comfortable on the M1 - the Italian leaving the second and final Sepang test as the top Yamaha rider in third place.

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