After the Grand Prix Sprint MotoGP From Czechia on the Brno circuit, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) appeared confused by the behavior of his Yamaha YZR-M1 V4, before explaining himself to the journalists present.
As usualWe reproduce his words here in their entirety without any formatting, even though they are translated from English. MotoGP Barcelona Bezzecchi
Fabio Quartararo: "Yes, it's frustrating because, you know, this morning... well, it wasn't extraordinary, but it wasn't as bad as this afternoon.
The feeling of my bike changes every time, whether it's for the Sprint or the race, and it seems like I'm completely lost on the first lap. I have no idea why.
It's strange to feel this way, because the sensations aren't so bad, but in reality, in the first few laps, I'm completely lost.
(I.e. Where did Toprak make the difference? Because he overtook you on the second or third lap, perhaps?
“Yes, on the second lap. Especially in the first few laps, he was faster. Then I was able to maintain the gap a little, but with the soft rear tire, I overheated a lot.”
We use the rear wheel a lot to turn the motorcycle and, in the end, I think my rear tire was completely cooked.
Yes, it's really strange, I don't understand why I'm so slow in races.
And yes, it's frustrating.
Is it simply because Yamaha doesn't yet have much data with the V4, which explains why the bike still gives the impression of having changed?
"Last year it was already a bit the same thing, especially when the grip decreased, we suffered more.
But today was really, really strange. I mean, I know my pace was a little better than that, but this afternoon I was extremely slow.
So, I don't know what to say right now.
But it wasn't related to anything particularly serious or…
"The bike is already heavy, but that's nothing new, you know. We're several kilos over the limit, but it's no worse than this morning. That's not the problem."
Was the soft tire a gamble or was it your first choice? Because the leading drivers were also using the soft tire…
"I mean, both tires worked. We saw Pecco win on the soft, Ogura finish second on the medium."
So it wasn't a gamble, it was simply that we wanted to try and get a little more grip.
It was interesting to try the soft compound, but we used the tire in a completely wrong way and overheated it considerably.
Does this race raise or lower your expectations for tomorrow?
“I think they can only get worse. I don’t think there is… We know that after Moto2, the grip will be even lower and I suffer when grip conditions are low.”
I mean, when there's a lot of grip, like at Le Mans, I can be faster, but I'm completely lost when the bike is performing with that level of grip.
Would you have liked to ride on Monday to have the opportunity to test the Pirellis, or are you happy to wait?
"I'm happy to look forward to Austria and what comes next."
Do you think you'll be able to test it in Austria?
"Yes, we will test it because I think it's a mandatory test for Pirelli, but not with the 850."
Results of the Sprint at the MotoGP Czech Grand Prix in Brno :
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
MotoGP Brno Sprint Quartararo
