This Thursday June 16, 2022, fabio quartararo answered journalists' questions from the Sachsenring circuit ahead of the German Grand Prix.
After dominating the Catalan Grand Prix from start to finish and proving fastest in the MotoGP Test which followed less than a fortnight ago, the French driver arrives in a position all the more comfortable as he leads the championship by 22 points and got on the 3rd step of the podium last year, behind Marc Márquez et Miguel Oliveira.
As usual, we report here the words of Fabio Quartararo without the slightest formatting, even if it is partially translated (vouvoiement in English, tutoiement in French).
Fabio, you had a fantastic week between Mugello and Barcelona, scoring 45 points out of a possible 50. How confident are you for the two rounds in Germany and the Netherlands?
fabio quartararo : "
Mugello and Barcelona went very well, with a very good pace in Barcelona throughout the weekend, Saturday and Sunday. At Mugello it was even better because I had felt bad all weekend and it was only on Sunday that we were able to have a very good race. The race at Sachsenring was very good last year and we finished on the podium. Also in Assen, it's a circuit that I really like, so of course I'm super motivated and I hope to do well there. »
It looks like temperatures will be very hot in Germany, but will this be your real challenge?
« It's a very small circuit and the race here is one of the longest, because when you've already done 15 laps and there are still 15 laps to go, pff... It's very long mentally! You always turn left and it's like you're driving for two hours. But it's the same for everyone and this circuit is mentally hard because it's very long. »
You said that you regained your driving style from last year. When did it click, and why?
« Overall, I'm thinking Austin this year. You know, at the start of the year I wasn't really honest, because especially in Qatar and Argentina, I would say I was complaining too much and in my head it was always because of the top speed which was very slow compared to the others. But in Austin, I decided to really stop with that mentality, because I was going to have the same bike for the whole year and we just had to do the best possible with what we had and which was overall very similar to the 'last year. We were able to do some very good races, and I think the step forward I took mentally in Austin gave me not more motivation but more concentration. And since Portimao, I've always finished in the top five, so I think it was a very good first part of the season, apart from a few races that I'm not super happy with. »
Will you have anything new on your bike after the Barcelona test?
« No. In Barcelona I raced with the new swingarm that we tried at the Jerez test, and at the Barcelona test we just compared which one was better. The new one was better so I will use it from now until the end. »
