Seen from the outside, the incredible progress of El Diablo is surprising. How could a rider who had only won one Grand Prix in 87 starts (31 in Moto3, 36 in Moto2 and 20 in MotoGP) be brought to his knees last Sunday, at the start of his second season in MotoGP? , Maverick Vinales et Valentino Rossi with strictly identical motorcycles?
Three men are well informed on this side, who constitute the triumvirate of the Petronas SRT team, Razlan Razali, Wilco Zeelenberg and Johan Stigefelt (pictured above with Fabio). The latter, a former Swedish driver in GP 250 (eighth in Argentina in 1998 on Suzuki and at Donington in 2000 on TSR-Honda) and 500 cm3 (thirteenth in Portugal in 2001 on Saber V4), ended his career in World Supersport (fifth in Qatar in 2006 on Honda).
He set up his own team in Supersport (with, among others, Yoann Tibério), then moved to GP Moto3 with Luis Salom, before being chosen as team manager for the Caterham Moto Racing Team in 2014 in Moto2 with Johann zarco. He finally became Team Director of the Sepang International Circuit in 2015 in Moto3, then named the Drive M7 SIC Racing Team.
Regarding his driver Fabio Quartararo, Stigefelt explained to Mat Oxley for Motor Sport Magazine
that it is " It's hard to describe Fabio's driving technique, but he is never wrong. He always puts the bike in the same place, even in the braking zone, everywhere he is the same. It's very accurate and it never makes a mistake, which is what really surprises us when we check the data. Other drivers always make mistakes – they brake too late or enter a corner too quickly, but Fabio is more precise. This is his advantage over others. »
“When we look at Fabio's data, the tires work really well for him, even if they don't work perfectly for everyone. If we look at Franco [Morbidelli], he struggles a little more – he's a little more aggressive on the brakes, he uses a steeper angle and he pulls a little more on the throttle.
“In MotoGP at the moment it's about how you learn to ride with the tires and how you maintain them. This is Fabio's other great talent, who knows how to manage his tires so well. Last Sunday, Maverick [Viñales] really struggled with the tires and Fabio didn't, even though the way their bikes are set up is very similar. »
“Fabio is also incredibly cool and his feet are really down to earth. He knows the chance we gave him last year and how hard we work for him. At the time we signed him he wasn't an obvious choice for MotoGP because he was mostly a mediocre Moto2 rider. He really took advantage of the contract and the opportunities we gave him. When he first came to us, he was already mature in his mind, in the way he explained how the bike worked, but now he is a man, not a boy. »
“Everyone knows that the Yamaha works well at Jerez, but there are difficult tracks that come our way, like Brno, then Spielberg. We are aware of this, so it is already in our plan that the next three races will be difficult. We will do our best, using the cornering speed of the Yamaha. We will probably be able to manage in Brno, but Austria will be very, very difficult, although we certainly have more horses than last year. In Spielberg you need a lot of top speed, but despite this disadvantage, Fabio rode very well there last year and got a podium. »
“We have in mind that once we get to Misano things will go better for us, then probably again at Le Mans and Valencia too. »
Wilco Zeelenberg, Razlan Razali, and Johan Stigefelt
Photos © Petronas SRT
