On this Saturday, October 24, fabio quartararo answered questions from journalists from the Motorland Aragón circuit at the end of the second day of the Teruel Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French pilot.
As usual, we report here the words of fabio quartararo without the slightest formatting, even if the first part is translated from English (vouvoiement).
fabio quartararo : " Qualifying was tough because we made a lot of changes to the bike this weekend, and that added a little extra for the race pace, but wasn't so good for qualifying because I had no feeling. The extra grip we usually have and the potential for more cornering speed is usually much better. So it was quite difficult for me today but if we can improve our pace tomorrow, that's the most important thing because it's a track where I struggle a lot and I'm very impatient to arrive in Valencia to have a better feeling. »
Do you think Suzuki deliberately sent Álex Rins to destabilize you, or was it just chance?
« It was just chance but I saw he was behind me. In FP2, he didn't let up when I was behind him, so I decided not to let up, even in qualifying. He's not really a contender for the championship, and if he can finish ahead of Mir, even better. »
Have you made a decision about which tires you are going to use?
« he pace isn't fantastic but it's not like we're completely lost. We did 48.7 on a 13 lap tire and I think we're 2 tenths off the pace. And 2 tenths is very difficult. With these 2 tenths I think we would be able to fight for the top 5, and I think we can find them because I know where I need to improve. But knowing which rear tire we are going to use is not yet very clear, because it seems that the soft one would be best, but if there were fewer revolutions. The midrange may not be fantastic at first but its consistency is a little better. We will therefore have to be smart and see what we can improve tomorrow morning to know the potential of the bike and the tire chosen. »
When you say that Rins is not a real opponent for the championship, can Nakagami be, given his performances and the fact that he is the only driver who has scored points in each race ?
« I think for this race, it would be happy if Taka wins! Because our main opponents currently are Joan, Maverick and Dovi. But for me, it's the kind of race where I never found the feeling in two weeks. I have to do my best for this race and we know I would feel much better in Valencia, but I don't know why I can't find the rhythm on this track. I never found it during those two weeks, and neither did I last year. So yes, Taka can be a real title contender. It may not be the one that has the best results but it is certainly the one that is the most consistent. And he gets faster and faster with each Grand Prix, so we really have to watch out for him. »
Last week you took pole position and your pace seemed a little better than today. Are you worried about tomorrow?
« My pace is better than last week, because last week, when my tire had the same number of revolutions, I was roughly 49. And this weekend, with a 15 revolution tire, I did 49.1. So the pace is much better, like for everyone, but as I said before, I think we are missing 2 or 3 tenths to be in a really good position tomorrow. It seems that everything is OK, but two turns are very bad. So we have to find something, so I have to find something, and it's not that easy to find because we've been looking to improve this area for the last week and not really succeeding. It's not easy to progress, but tomorrow in the race, behind the drivers, you always feel a little better. The front tire pressure issue seems to be resolved, so I'm happy with that. I'm a little worried because I don't have a real rhythm to fight for a great result tomorrow, but I will improve. I think it's important to do a good warm up tomorrow. Not really in terms of position but in terms of feeling, because I will know which tire we are going to use tomorrow afternoon. »
Which two corners are you struggling with and what is the problem?
« For me the main problem is the ease of turning. Long, fast corners where you have to stay between 10% and full throttle for a long time are difficult. Turns 10,16 and 17 are where we lose 3/10. On the rest of the circuit, I am good, except on these turns. We've tried different ways, different settings, but we haven't found a way to turn the bike yet. I'll try harder, but it's not easy to progress. Tomorrow morning we are going to try something that can improve the bike as well as different things to try to solve the problem. »
You mentioned Aragón last year where you had problems with tire degradation, but nevertheless you were more consistent in the second half of the championship. This year, the results are more checkered. Could this be linked to the fact that last year you had a motorcycle from the previous year, perhaps more advanced compared to a factory motorcycle that is a bit in the process of perpetual evolution?
« The little I know is that last year I had a motorcycle of the same year. I didn't have a bike from the year before, except that I had different specs, but at the end of the season we got the carbon forks and the 500 rpm. So it was all positive things, but even at the start of the season where the bike wasn't really the same as the others, I felt good. This year, where we are struggling is with the consistency of the rear tire. And that's something where we don't understand why we have so much problem. Even in Barcelona, I had a good race but we had a lot of difficulty in the last laps. And here, it's the same thing, except it comes much earlier. What we don't understand is that Maverick did 49.0 in the last lap at the last race with 23 laps on the tire, while I just managed to do it over three laps. That's what I'm going to try tomorrow, do a warm-up with an already fairly worn tire and see how the tire behaves on lap 20/21 to really get an idea of what I'm going to have in the race. »
Regarding the problem from last time, did you find a solution? With a lower pressure initially, does that solve the problem?
« It seems like ! Even in FP2, I did laps behind Mir and Rins, I was quite close and we didn't have any pressure problems so I think that's a problem that is solved. But we will see tomorrow in the race, because we are behind more drivers. We don't hope to have this kind of problem because we know very well that it's really impossible to ride, but I think these are problems that are fairly resolved. »
Qualification 2 ranking of the Teruel MotoGP Grand Prix:
Qualification 1 ranking of the Teruel MotoGP Grand Prix:
Photo credit and rankings: MotoGP.com
