Fabio Quartararo did not start the Australian weekend well at Phillip Island, the track which hosts the 16th race of MotoGP 2023. “El Diablo” in fact finished outside the Top Ten, exactly in 17th position, a position which would have could have been better if on the last lap he had not been hampered by Augusto Fernandez, who was then penalized by three positions on the grid.
The fact remains that the 2021 MotoGP champion encountered many difficulties riding the Yamaha M1, which particularly suffers on the Australian track. “ I had no chance of reaching Q2 " commented fabio quartararo that holds the top spot. " We have difficulty in the corners, more than last year. I am a second behind the first and my teammate is also in difficulty. And we don't understand why ».
Fabio Quartararo: “ I'm half a second faster than last year, but I'm 17th, it's crazy »
And in fact, Franco Morbidelli finished last, almost two seconds behind the leader Brad Binder on KTM that holds the top spot. " Today was worse than I feared » adds the Frenchman who notes: “ I'm half a second faster than last year, but I'm 17th, it's crazy ».
« The harder casing tire we had in Indonesia helped us last week. It's a different story here, and with the race taking place tomorrow instead of Sunday, we have to improve and try to be ahead » further mentions the 2021 MotoGP World Champion who concludes: “ tires help the competition rather than penalizing us. Unfortunately the problem is that we are not constant. In India I fought to the end with Martin, in Japan, in the Sprint Race, I was one of the fastest. Then in Mandalika we took a step back. It's hard to understand where we are ».
👀 @Afernandez37 was right where @FabioQ20 wanted to be!
The incident is under investigation! ⚠️#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/9ZXKPfgP7W
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) October 20, 2023
MotoGP Australia J1: standings
Credit classification motogp.com