MotoGP Catalonia Barcelona J2, Debriefing Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha/1): “The only question mark remains knowing which rear tire I will use”, etc. (Entirety)

On this Saturday, June 5, 2021, fabio quartararo answered questions from journalists from the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit at the end of the second day of the Catalan Grand Prix.

We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French driver, who obtained his 5th consecutive pole position after his big victory at Mugello last Sunday.

The Niçois currently has a 24-point lead over his closest opponent in the standings., who is none other than his compatriot Johann zarco.

As usual, we report here the words of fabio quartararo without the slightest formatting, even if the first part is translated from English (vouvoiement).

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Fabio, you achieved your fifth consecutive pole position and everything seems to be going well, regardless of the rear tire used. How happy are you?

fabio quartararo : " I am very happy ! I feel very good on the bike. In FP4, we wanted to use both tires, medium and hard: both work well but at the moment I don't know which one I will choose. The sensations are very similar for me and the times are all good. So I'm very happy, and the qualification was very good. I had a little more on the last lap but there were the yellow flags. I'm very happy and I think we can have a very good race tomorrow, and the only question mark remains which rear tire I will use. »

 

 

Remember how you might have wished for a harder tire last year?

« Last year, almost everyone did the soft/soft race. Ok, the tires are different from those of last year but the longevity is much better: I drove this morning with a 25 lap tire and I did a big 40, so with the medium, it's good . If tomorrow morning the warm up takes place on the dry, I will try to do more laps with the hard to see if it works, but we know that the medium will cover the race distance with very good times. We'll see tomorrow if the hard one works well too. It's a tough choice, but regardless, both tires perform well. »

Today, many MotoGP riders think that you kept a little extra under the handle…

« Eh, I don't have many extras (laughs)! When I saw the 39 finish in FP4, I was quite surprised. I was close to the limit and didn't have much extra margin. Sure, when it's Sunday you want more and you can do a little more, but that's more because it's race day and you find a little more. But I wouldn't say "extra". »

You are living a beautiful time. Have you ever experienced this and how do you keep your feet on the ground?

« Yes, I had this experience but many years ago, when I was in CEV in 2014. But you can't compare CEV Moto3 to MotoGP. The best could be yet to come but last year I had a very good period at Jerez, two races, then ups and downs with a race here and there. This year, apart from Jerez where I had a physical problem, but I was comfortable in Jerez I knew I could be fast, since the start of this year I have kept a good pace. I don't think it's more difficult to keep my feet on the ground because I see that the way I work works well, so I don't have to change. So I want to keep the same way of doing things, physically and mentally, with the team. Everything is going well, so I want to keep this direction. »

If you choose the hard rear tire for the race, aren't you worried that it will be tricky to warm it up during the first two laps?

« No. Currently I feel it is quite easy to get the tire warm. May be too much. But I feel that it is not difficult to warm up the hard tire because I immediately had a good feeling. So it's not a problem for me and you just have to do a good warm-up. That's enough. »

 

 

Ranking of Qualification 2 of the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona:

Ranking of Qualification 1 of the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona:

Credit rankings and photo: MotoGP.com