MotoGP, Christian Sarron: “Not only will Fabio win other Grands Prix, but he will fight for the title”

On Sunday May 19, 1985, Christian Sarron won the German Grand Prix on the Hockenheim Circuit, ahead of Freddie spencer, Ron Haslam and Eddie Lawson. He now staunchly supports Fabio Quartararo, about whom he declared a year ago “You have to know, like Fabio, not to ask too many questions and take your chances. » The 250cc World Champion of 3 was right 1984 times over, as El Diablo has just proven to us in Jerez.

“What absolutely amazed me about Fabio, in his driving and his management of the race, was that he knew how to stay calm, Christian explained. Okay, he missed his start. Missed ? Let's just say he didn't succeed. But he remained very calm. And even when he was overtaken, first by Jack Miller, then by Maverick Viñales, he did not panic. He remained calm and concentrated, which is already a first quality, even though he started from pole position, then was overtaken by other drivers. He didn't get upset, he stayed very clean. »

“He blew me away. If there is a driver who is a metronome and a purist, it is Jorge Lorenzo. Among the recent drivers, because I knew others before like Giacomo Agostini and Luca Cadalora. »

“It’s precisely this precise and regular side that surprised me about Fabio. He was like that throughout the race, without making any mistakes. We could clearly see Viñales making mistakes, Márquez and other drivers behind as well. The only one who didn't – or hardly at all – was Fabio. And that really surprised me. »

“He has extremely smooth and efficient driving, with a lot of passing speed. Without equaling Lorenzo in this area, he is one of the MotoGP riders who has the purest, cleanest riding, and he demonstrated it in the race without getting angry. It really surprised me. Finally, we realize that he knew how to put pressure on others. »

“As far as I'm concerned, I'm very happy with what happened to him because last year he would have already deserved to have a victory. He then did not have the success, the luck, the experience, nor always the machine. This Sunday, I was able to see that compared to Viñales' Yamaha, Márquez's Honda and Miller's Ducati, his Yamaha seemed quite good to me in terms of performance. There is much less difference than last year. This year the performance of the bikes is quite similar, even when accelerating, which was not the case last season. »

You, Régis Laconi and Fabio are three of the four French winners in the premier category, all three on Yamaha. Why on Yamaha? Is it a coincidence? Is this due to Yamaha's positioning in France?

“There is a fair amount of chance. If you go back to the fourth French winner, it was Pierre Monneret who won the French Grand Prix in Reims in 1954 on Gilera, when all the factory drivers were absent. He got the factory Gilera because he was going to become a dealer for the brand. »

“For Régis Laconi, it was the Yamaha Red Bull satellite team. Régis made a daring choice of tires on a circuit that no one knew about in the wet. This choice turned out to be wise and there wasn't even a fight. What he did was commendable, and he was able to win easily because he had well-suited tires. Régis will then reach the podium only once in MotoGP, during the following GP in Australia. »

“In my time, there weren't many factory bikes in satellite teams. I had one at Yamaha, Pierfrancesco Chili had one at Honda. In the history of motorcycle racing, Yamaha has often been more involved than Honda in GP with satellite teams. This explains why it is perhaps a little more logical for Yamaha to have victories with French riders in satellite teams. Fabio is in a satellite team with 100% factory equipment. I just had the bike, not the development during the season. »

“As much as last year it was a surprise that Fabio was at this level, including for himself (laugh), this year we could expect to see him at the front after the end of the season he had in 2019. As the factory Yam has progressed, I think that not only will Fabio win other Grands Prix, but he will fight for the title. »

Fabio and Maverick Viñales are first and second in the championship. Can the fact that they will be teammates next season affect this year's championship?

“I have to think about your question… Opponents this year, teammates next year, I honestly think that between two Yamaha riders equipped with the same equipment, there is very strong competition, whether or not they are in the same team. »

" For what ? Because the one who has been in place for a little longer, that is to say Viñales, will want to justify that it will be him who will best defend the colors of Yamaha, so he will make it a point of honor to try to be in front of Fabio. »

“Now, when we see Fabio's talent, his results and his potential, Viñales must have already asked himself questions last year at the end of the season, even if he won a Grand Prix at the end of the year (in Malaysia ) while Fabio did not win any. »

“This year the positions are reversed, with a victory for Fabio, but none for Viñales who will do everything to win. In my opinion, either this year there is one who completely dominates the other, and the one who is dominated risks losing, and vice versa. »

“Actually, I'll put it another way to be more precise: if Viñales is dominated by Fabio this year, he risks starting out a bit of a loser next year, with Fabio on his team. On the other hand, if Fabio loses this year, he is capable of ups and downs, as he showed in Moto3 and Moto2. That wouldn't bode well, but that wouldn't stop him from trying to do everything next year and fighting to be in front. »

 

Photos © Yamaha