Via the official website MotoGP.com, we attended the pre-event press conference for the Czech Republic Grand Prix in Brno.
Were present Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Vinles, Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi, Takaaki Nakagami, Joan Mir.
As usuale, we report here the entirety of the words of Fabio Quartararo without the slightest formatting.
Fabio Quartararo, you had the perfect start to the season. Do you expect it to be a little more difficult here in Brno?
fabio quartararo : " Yes. Of course, I think Jerez was a bit better track for us, but like I said last year, the Yamaha works well on all circuits. It is true that on this track, there are quite a few straight lines and climbs, but also a lot of turns. So in the end, our bike runs very well. We lack a little power, but we can't have everything, so we will do our best, and, with the same mentality, we will work very hard to see our potential for Sunday. But tomorrow and Saturday we will work a lot on race pace. »
With two wins in seven days, your life has changed compared to the fans, even if there aren't any here. How was this week?
« Honestly, after a race victory, you celebrate a lot with your friends, you go out, but at the moment it's quite strange because as soon as I arrive home, I don't see anyone and I always wear the mask. I went to see my family but I couldn't even hug my mother to celebrate because I was a little worried after seeing the Formula 1 driver catch the virus. Honestly, I was a little stressed so I didn't do anything special and stayed safe, still with the mask. But now we are here and we can really focus on the competition. »
It seems that for you MotoGP is easier than Moto3 and Moto2. For what ?
« In reality, it's not like that, but when I arrived in MotoGP, I immediately found that the people worked much more professionally than in Moto3 and Moto2. I adapted quite quickly because I received very good help from the team: they taught me very well. My team manager gave me some tips from the start of 2019 and made me try a lot of things on the bike, which was a huge help. We then progressed step by step and I had very good feelings during the test in Qatar. I finished second overall, which gave me confidence and allowed me to go progressively faster. Let's say that MotoGP requires more laps because the tires are a little more critical. You have to think about the tires, the maps, the engine braking, and these are things that I have adapted to quite well, because the tires are much better than in Moto2. So I think it was this combination that made me adapt faster to MotoGP than to Moto3 and Moto2. »
Was there a time in your career when you thought you wouldn't make it?
« Honestly, for me, the worst feeling I ever had was in 2018 in Argentina. I was 28th in qualifying, and at that moment I wondered what I was doing here. I was so far away that I was lost. From that moment on, I completely changed my way of thinking and went to see a psychologist to find out what was going on. And from that moment we progressed, to Jerez, to Le Mans, to Barcelona where we took our first victory. This moment was very important in my life, because it was the worst which made me learn something for the future. Of course, I was worried but it was useful to know this moment to bounce back and be able to move into MotoGP. »
Alberto Puig, when he explained what happened to Marc Márquez, said that this championship would be more interesting because the drivers who had no chance of winning the championship against Marc now had a chance to do so. What do you think ?
« What I think is that we all started at Jerez 100%. Ultimately, it is a sport that involves a lot of risks and in which we can get injured. Everyone can get injured, here or in Austria, so for me the championship is the same, with or without Marc. We have to fight for what we want to achieve, and we are currently working the same way whether Marc is here or not. In reality, I think the championship is the same. Of course there is a top driver who doesn't race with us, but of course for me it will be the same. »
If you win on Sunday, you will join Kenny Roberts in having won all three season-opening races for Yamaha. Would you be proud?
« I tell you honestly, I don't really attach importance to this statistic (laughs). I just want to do my best and I don't think about that. It's not something that's important to me. What I have to do is do my best, work hard on Friday and Saturday, and if there is an opportunity to win on Sunday, of course I will take it. But I won't think for a single second about this statistic. »
Do you consider yourself the favorite for the championship and does that put pressure on you?
« No. Honestly, right now, I'm not thinking about the championship. This is only the third race of the season and I'm taking it race by race. I've never been in this kind of situation at this level but I think it's very important, because I think it's not a good thing to think about the championship from the third race. I just think about this race and I feel the same things as before: for me, the pressure doesn't exist. I just want to continue working like we did in Jerez because I was extremely happy to be calm and work in a good way. I feel like we have the potential to fight for the podium or for wins, so I just want to keep going in that direction, and I'm not thinking about the championship. »
Social media question: if you had three wishes to make, what would they be?
« I think it's quite simple: to be world champion in 2020, in 2021 and 2022 (Laughs)! »
Photo credits: MotoGP.com
