Engine 🔯performance has again been𝓡 labelled as Quartararo’s top priority for next season.

The current d🍃esꦜign, while better than 2022, is still not strong enough to run high levels of downforce and overtaking the likes of Ducati, Aprilia and KTM remains a major challenge.

The Frenchman acknowledged the prototype 2024 engine ‘felt different’ but stℱruggled to say if it ꦅwas any better than this year’s design.

“I cannot say right now. I need to test more, but I expected better from🐲 this,” Quartararo said.

“The feeling is different. But, like I said, I think I expected more power, more power and yeah... It was a little 💃bit difficult to say something really positive about the engine.

“But we have to stay positive and try to analyse what happened to improve for th🔯e Valencia te𒈔sts.”

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That feedback contraꦇsted with a yearಌ ago, when Quartararo got his first taste of this year’s engine, designed with the aid of ex-F1 designer Luca Marmorini.

“In 2022, when I tried the 2023 bike [here], I think it's the first ti🎐me when I f♍elt the engine was a bit better. But today, I didn't feel,” he said.

Marmorini was watching 💧from the Monster Yama♏ha pits, had Quartararo spoken to him?

“I talked to Luca before the start, but not after. So now in ꧋approximately 2 minutes, I am in the meeting [with him]. So I prefer to come [here] before the meeting!”

Quartararo agreed that the huge grip levels on track today hadn’😼t helped with the testing of new parts,🍎 since the Yamaha naturally performs better in such conditions.

“The biggest thing for us is when the track is high grip, it changes totally our bike. I d🔯id ‘31.4 with almost 20 laps on the tyre. And this was my qualifying lap from the weekend,” said the 2021 world champion, who finished the test sixth fastest.

“Of couไrse, the others are much faster than us, but their performance difference from low grip to high grip is much smaller than us. Our pace improved al꧑most one second, 7-8 tenths. And for them it’s not as much.”

Qu⛦artararo was also wary that the boost provided by such grip had perhaps led Yamaha astray in the past.

“I think last year we got it wrong in this area. Many bikওes are putting down Michelin rubber, and it's a track where you sp𒐪in a lot so you leave a lot of the tyre. If you go to turn 3 right now, it's black.

“So then you open the throttle, on the raceꦐ weekend you have to control because it's sliding, but now you can stay wide open and it's fake.”

But it wasn’t all bad news.

Quartararo als🌱o tried some new aero under the swingarm, which can♓ be used this season since it is outside the restricted ‘aero body’ zones.

“One of 𝄹the things that was positive was the ‘spoon’ we tried under the swingarm, so I think this we will have for the next race. And the rest, I think we will try to build some new things for Valencia test.”

Team-mate Franco Morbidelli tried a different chassis but didn’t li🃏k🐷e it.

Quartararo: 'I have to stay polite'

Quartararo’sꦇ current situati𒆙on is frequently compared with that of fellow former champion Marc Marquez at Honda.

Both champions have☂ been demanding major technical progress after a dire 2023 campaign.

Quartararo has taken just one grand prix podium this season, witౠh Marquez’s 🌠only top three finish coming in the season opening Portimao Sprint.

Meanwhile, over 100 points now separates the three European brands - Ducati, KTM and Aprilia - from bottom of the tabl✅e Yamaha and Honda in the constructors’ standings.

Yamaha’s last MotওoGP victory w🍃as over a year ago by Quartararo. Marquez has been winless for two seasons, although Alex Rins broke Honda’s drought with a shock victory in COTA this year.

While Marquez is openly teasing a possible switch away from ꧟Honda despite a 2024 contract, Quartararo is 𒅌trying to ‘stay calm’ and 'stay polite'.

“Yamaha believed in me when I arrived to Moto2, and my attitude at the beginning of this year was a little bit more arrogant than what I ha꧙d to do,” Quartararo said of his reaction to the💛 disappointing form of this year's M1.

“So of course we are inও a tough moment, but I have to s🅺tay polite.

"We [Yamaha and I] both 𝓀want the same and of course it's difficult, but I prefer to stay more calm🥃 and try to build a better combination with everybody.”

Morbi𒅌delli was eighth 🅷quickest at a test led by the 2022 Ducati of Luca Marini.