Assen, MotoGP, J2, Fabio Quartararo conference: What to expect for the race, etc. (Entirety)

The press conference held at the end of qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen brought together Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Vinales, Alex Rins, Remy Gardner and Niccolò Antonelli.

As usual, we report here the raw words of fabio quartararo, without the slightest journalistic interpretation.

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Almost 1'31, it's a fantastic time and you beat Valentino Rossi's record. You've shown very good pace almost every session since Mugello and it seemed like you were disappointed to have only finished 2nd yesterday...

fabio quartararo : “yes, really, this weekend is completely positive. I struggled a bit at the start of Friday because I think it is one of the most difficult tracks we have had in MotoGP. But of course the pace is good and we worked well yesterday afternoon and this morning. And of course the last 2 laps were very fast and I was able to really put in a good lap so I'm very happy with the pole today.”

It looks like it's going to be very hot for the race tomorrow. What do you expect?

“I think the temperatures will be more or less the same tomorrow. We are pretty good with all the tires so we will have to decide tomorrow morning which (rear) tire we are going to use. For the front tire it's pretty clear, but for the rear it's still difficult. We will have to work with a full tank. We will see tomorrow morning if the conditions are good enough to do this test.”

With these high temperatures, what do you think will be the most difficult part of the race, the beginning, the middle or the end?

“I think the whole race will be difficult, but I think we will have to manage the tires with the heat, since the race is long, 26 laps. I think the race will be in groups, so we will have to push the tires a bit to overtake, so I think the last part of the race will be quite difficult.

You were the fastest in the first 3 sectors but not the 4th. Did you make a small mistake in qualifying?

“I made a mistake in the last sector, and my 3rd sector during the first lap was really good. The small mistake in the last sector was that I went very wide in turn 15 and I couldn't brake the bike well in the chicane. So yes, I lost a tenth or a tenth and a half. We'll have to watch, but anyway, I'm very happy with these two rounds because I was on the limit, but I managed them well.

According to Jean Michel Bayle, the last sector is the most difficult of the season. What do you think ?

“Even this afternoon it was quite difficult because the wind was pushing outwards at turn 12, although it helped us at turn 15. This sector impressed me a lot during FP1 because you arrive very quickly in turn 15. Changing direction is not as easy as in Moto2 and Moto3. So it came naturally, step by step. We don’t skip any steps on this circuit, and just enjoy the bike.”

Standings for Q2 of the MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix in Assen:

Photo credit and ranking: MotoGP.com