Ramon Forcada out of the MotoGP paddock after 30 years as an engineer. The crew chief dictates his recipe for Yamaha.
Sunday evening in Misano there was the farewell party for Andrea Dovizioso after 21 years in the world championship. The long MotoGP adventure ended with the Yamaha RNF livery, after a year of disappointing results due to the bad feeling with the YZR-M1. His crew chief Ramon Forcada also left the satellite box after thirty years in the paddock, working alongside champions such as Alex Barros, Casey Stoner, Carlos Checa, Jorge Lorenzo, Franco Morbidelli.
He closes a prestigious career as a coach with the Italian Dovizioso, but his professional fate is still uncertain. The only certain news is that he will not be in the pits this 2022 season, waiting for a possible and interesting offer for next year. “My last race? I do not know“, he answered Ramon Forcada in Dazn. “For this year, yes. Next year we will see what happens. What is certain is that in 2023 I will not continue in this team. I’m not looking for anything, if something interesting comes along, that’s it, otherwise it will mean that the pension is about to arrive“.
Ramon Forcada analyzes Yamaha problems
The Catalan engineer knows better than others what is happening at Yamaha currently. On one side Fabio Quartararo former world champion and leader of this championship, on the other three drivers in great difficulty with the M1. Beyond the indisputable talent of the Frenchman, there would be a technical gap between the Iwata House and the European brands. “For me the problem is when you stop evolving, there is a lack of a Latin mentality. I have worked a lot with the Japanese and they are always looking for perfection“.
Hence the waste of time in bringing the new components to the track. Ducati, for example, has more courage in testing new things, even at the cost of having to retrace their steps. Another typical problem of the Japanese teams is the fear of going beyond the regulations, which does not happen in Ducati. A bit like what happened with tire pressure, a topic that emerged after the victory of Pecco Bagnaia who ran the race with the front tire pressure below the mandatory minimum of 1.9 bar. But without violating the regulations that are not yet fiscal in this matter.
According to Ramon Forcada there is a solution, easy to say less to do, although the arrival of Eng. Marmorini is a glimmer of mental and corporate openness. “They shouldn’t be too afraid of making a mistake, because nothing happens“.
