The once mighty Japanese manufacturer wound up 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th at the Red Bull Ring in a race topped by Ducati’s Marc Marquez.
Frenchman Fabio Quartararo was the best of a bad bunch while Australian Jack Miller was worst off, 37 seconds behind the race leader at the end of 28 laps in 18th.
Yamaha cited a myriad of factors for the woeful performance of the factory team and its satellite Pramac.
Hard braking areas, violent acceleration zones, and an aging track surface coupled with a less temperature-sensitive tyre featuring a stiffer carcass did not suit the YZR-M1.
The lacklustre result for Miller comes at a time when there is uncertainty about his future at the Yamaha satellite team Pramac.
“There‘s not much to say after a very, very difficult weekend for all of us. It‘s disappointing, to say the least,” said Miller.
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“I felt good for the first five laps – and by ’good‘ I mean the grip was acceptable, but it was the kind of grip we should normally have at the end of a race, not at the beginning.
“And here, we never had that level at all. It‘s quite clear on paper that this weekend our bike simply doesn‘t work with this rear tire and its construction. There‘s just no way to make it work.”
Miller was left dumbfounded by his inability to make the YZR-M1 work at the Red Bull Ring, famed for its long straights,
“I tried everything I know – from short-shifting, to being super patient on the throttle – just trying to find a way to defend myself,” Miller explained.
“But once you reach around 120 km/h, when the momentum should be enough, we start losing load on the rear, the bike spins like crazy in a straight line, and there‘s nothing you can do about it.
“The front end of the YZR-M1 is phenomenal, but the rear is the limitation. We need to work hard to understand how to improve it.”
Oliveira offered an equally grim assessment of Sunday’s race. The Portuguese rider said he knew it would be a tough race after the morning’s warm-up.
“It‘s frustrating when you can‘t do anything with your riding to be faster or to fight,” said Oliveira.
“It was really tough for me – one of the worst races I‘ve ever done.
“I think the four of us Yamaha riders all have our strengths and weaknesses in different parts of the track, but our struggles were quite similar.
“Today the ranking doesn‘t really matter regarding which Yamaha finished first or last, because when you‘re at the bottom it‘s irrelevant.
“We have no grip when accelerating out of corners, and we lack a lot of support from the rear to lean into the corner and turn faster.
“I think one of the biggest issues with this bike is the stopping.
“Fabio makes a huge difference on the brakes, but that‘s down to him – he‘s the one making the difference. We‘re already at the limit with the potential of this bike.”
Quartarao foreshadowed a repeat of the Red Bull Ring horror show when MotoGP visits Balaton Park Circuit in Hungary.
Pramac boss Gino Borsoi offered some optimism, however.
“Unfortunately, the difficulties that had emerged since the first practice session reappeared again today in the race, despite the technicians trying in every possible way to minimise the damage,” said Borsoi.
“We know the direction we need to take, and we are working hard to solve these problems, but it will still take time. What we must not do is give up.”
MotoGP continues on August 22-24 with the Grand Prix of Hungary.
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