Fabio Quartararo finished first among the non-Ducati riders in qualifying for the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin. A generally comfortable situation but which, in this case, pushes him back to sixth position on the starting grid…
However, the Yamaha rider was perhaps on his way to snatching pole position when he crashed, losing the front of his M1 during the first run of qualifying. Despite a frantic return to his box, the young Frenchman could not repeat his performance during the second run and had to bow to a veritable armada from Borgo Panigale.
However, this does not prevent The Devil to show a certain confidence for the race, even if Enea Bastianini et Marc Márquez seem particularly efficient...
Fabio Quartararo: « I tried to do my best. I knew that to have a good race tomorrow, you had to take risks. I attacked 100% today, and I crashed. In the second outing I tried to give my best, but I made a lot of mistakes in the first sector, although I improved in the third and fourth sectors. When the temperature rises we struggle more with grip and I had to exceed the limit. In the end, I'm still happy. I did my best and I have nothing to add, these things happen.
I'd rather have five Ducatis than five different bikes. Ultimately, it's not a big problem, everyone is fast, we'll see how it goes, but I think you'll have to give your best from the start.
I don't want to think about damage control. A lot of guys have a fast pace, including the two Aprilias, but luckily they didn't make it to Q2. For me, the favorites are Marc Marquez and Bastianini. Before coming to talk to you, I looked at sector 3 of Bastianini on worn tires, it was my time attack, so we will have a lot of difficulty in a straight line, that's for sure. As I said, Enea and Marc have the best pace, Martín is also fast, Bagnaia a little less but still has good pace. We're not bad at tire wear, although we're not the best. We'll see what we can do, I don't have any particular objective, other than to try to have a good race, to have fun, to try to get a good start, to have a good first turn, and succeed in progressing. We had good starts all weekend but it's totally different: the straight is a bit bumpy and uphill.
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Massimo Meregalli: « Another mixed day for us. Fabio was able to work on the racing distance of the rear tire with good indications. It's really a shame that on Fabio's first attack, while he was pushing to the maximum, he lost the front. But it’s impressive what he did! He left the garage with four minutes to go and was able to immediately improve on his first lap on his second bike, securing a place on the second row. It was a different story for Franco, who suddenly had no confidence going forward. This ruined his session. We expect a tough race, but we will try to be in the running and play an important role. »
Results of Qualifying 2 of the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin:
Results of Qualifying 1 of the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
