MotoGP Aragón J1 Debriefing Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha/7): “A bee in the neck but everything is OK”, etc. (Entirety)

This Friday September 10, 2021, fabio quartararo answered questions from journalists from the Motorland Aragón circuit, at the end of the first day of the MotoGP Aragón Grand Prix.

We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French driver, leader of the championship with 65 points ahead of his closest opponent and therefore the big favorite for the title with six races remaining in the season.

As usual, we report here the words of fabio quartararo without the slightest formatting.

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fabio quartararo : " It was a good day, but I just encountered a lot of traffic during the time attack and I couldn't do a lap. But it's still not bad because being less than half a second from Jack (Miller) with this traffic satisfies me because I know the potential we have. I have a bee in my neck and, at the time, it hurt a lot, but everything is OK. Overall, I'm really happy because the first run was really good this afternoon. During the second run we changed something that didn't turn out good, but I stayed with the feeling of confidence I had in the first run with a pace of 48.5. »

Yesterday you said that this was perhaps the worst circuit for you. But what you did today is pretty good, right?
« It's really good and I didn't expect it, because when I saw that I was P4 or P5, I wasn't attacking like hell and I thought everyone would do the same as me. Normally, when my chief mechanic gives me a sign like that (thumbs up), I say to myself “OK, that must be a good pace”. In the second run I struggled a lot because we tried something on the bike we had in mind this morning, but it definitely didn't work. But my pace was still 49.3, which isn't too bad. But the first run was much much better. »

If we look at the different sectors, it seems that you are losing time in the fourth, and perhaps a little also in the second...
« In the second, it's very clear: If you look at the pace in the second sector, it's pretty good, but for the time attack I encountered a lot of traffic and I couldn't finish my lap. And for sector four, I can't tell you much. We compared with Cal Crutchlow and he has a very good fourth sector because he had a good aspiration. Unfortunately I had an old engine and the bike was very low on RPM, and we know the power isn't the best. So these three elements together meant that we were not very good, and I was also struggling in the last corner. So I think sector 4 is one of the worst sectors on the calendar, but I have some good ideas to improve it tomorrow. »

How did the start test with Jack Miller go?
« The test was nice. We had a good start but Jack got away as soon as he got into fourth gear. But it was a lot of fun because we left more or less at the same time. »

Is there anything special on the safety committee's agenda this evening?
« I've no idea ! I plan to go there. Normally I don't really like going there but I want to go to this one. I don't know the program of the security commission. »

You seem more consistent on this circuit than you thought before: Is it the bike or the driving?
« It's a combination of both and I was quite surprised with my pace in the first run because I was really consistent and still managed to get a good pace. So I am satisfied with this pace and I of course looked at the pace of my opponents: Bagnaia was also very consistent despite a fall. In any case, I think we can be satisfied with what we did today. As I said in English, we tried something on the bike during the second run but it didn't work at all. So, see! »

 

FP1/FP2 classification of the Aragón MotoGP Grand Prix:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com