At the end of this day of testing during which Fabio Quartararo completed 89 laps of the Paul Ricard Grand Circuit, the objective was achieved: adjust the bike to suit its rider, regain some sensations and work muscles that only the bike is demanding (neck and groin in this case), and above all take pleasure in discovering a new route and a new machine, without pressure and without the desire to go for the last tenth.
This evening, we briefly had a first meeting with El Diablo, always pleasant and available for the press.
Fabio, even if you have already ridden a motorcycle in cross or trials, today was your first reunion with asphalt. A huge pleasure?
fabio quartararo : “yes, really a great pleasure! After four months without having ridden a motorbike, it feels good to get some sensations back. »
You discovered the Yamaha R1, cousin of your usual M1. What do you think ?
“Yes, I discovered it today, which I really appreciate. At the end of the day, it was super fun and we still have tomorrow to have fun. »
We remember that the first time you rode a MotoGP, in Valencia, the carbon brakes were the area you had to work on the most. It’s now one of your strengths, so how did the rehab to steel brakes come about?
“That's okay, because it's much easier to adapt in that sense, from carbon brakes to steel brakes, than the other way around. And it won't be a problem to find the carbon brakes either. »
We're not going to ask you the question of your goals for the coming season, but simply ask you one thing: do you ever wake up at night and tell yourself that you can't achieve believe that you are going to be a Yamaha factory rider next year?
“That’s every morning (laughs)! In addition, it is something exceptional to continue with Yamaha. What will be weird is to think that after the Valencia race, Valentino will take his things off the Yamaha truck and that I will put mine in there. That’s something I’ll never achieve, even when I’m in the official team.”
For the occasion, Fabio Quartararo used a Yamaha R1 managed by the Tech Solutions team and we wanted to know a little more, both about this bike and about this team.
Franck, Can you introduce Tech Solutions to us?
Franck Larrivee : “Tech Solutions is a company based in Signes near the Paul Ricard circuit which is six years old and which is gradually growing in motorcycle competition. We are two partners, myself, Franck, and Étienne Alcaina and we have activities in the French championship, the Spanish championship, the Italian championship and the World Superbike because we are trying to diversify our activities. »
Can we detail these activities?
“In the French championship, we are going to have Mathieu Ginès ride in Superbike for the Yamaha France program. He will therefore have the official Yamaha France motorcycle which is built and assembled here. We also have customers like Nicolas Escudier who will also compete in the French Superbike championship. In Supersport we have Dylan Mille as well as Guillaume Pot, and we are also preparing several motorcycles for the French 300 championship.”
“With the company MHP, we have set up a project to go to the European Talent Cup with two young people, Matteo Pedeneau who has already proven himself in 300 and who will try to move towards real competition motorcycles, and Amaury Mizera to whom we will give a chance. »
Can you tell us a little about the bike used by Fabio?
“It is a motorcycle derived from the French Superbike championship because it is very interesting for us to put a rider of this level to collect his information and his technical analysis of all the parameters, which will allow us to progress in the optics of the French Superbike championship. »
How does it compare to the YART endurance bike, for example?
“We are on a motorcycle in which the engine has fewer special parts, so it is surely less powerful. On the other hand, the regulations of the French Superbike championship, more restrictive, mean that it has fewer components on board, which makes it lighter than an endurance R1. In the end, the objective of these tests was not to go for the last tenths, and this bike was therefore very suitable to allow Fabio to line up laps without worrying about the machine. »
