This Thursday, April 28, 2022, fabio quartararo answered questions from journalists from the Jerez – Ángel Nieto circuit ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Reinvigorated by his recent victory in Portugal which propelled him to the top of the MotoGP world championship standings tied on points with Alex Rins, El Diablo arrives on a track which, due to its short straight, suits his Yamaha YZR-M1 well…
As usual, we report here the words of Fabio Quartararo without the slightest formatting, even if it is partially translated (vouvoiement in English, tutoiement in French).
How important is this first victory of the 2022 season in Portugal?
Fabio Quartararo : " It was an important moment because it was really good for us to…
Overall we didn't have a lot of dry track but it was really good because our base is very similar to last year. Straight away, I was able to be fast, and in particular doing 39.4 during the race on the third lap was very important. And of course, fighting for victory after a difficult start to the season is always great, and even more so when you have back-to-back races and I'm coming to one of my favorite circuits. »
Here you raced four times in MotoGP and you took pole position four times and achieved two victories. Are you going to fight for victory again this weekend despite having to take revenge because of your compartment syndrome from last year?
« A revenge, I would say no, because it was not a problem on the bike, it was a problem on my side (laughs). So I would say that I arrive much more prepared because the operation I had last year was perfect. So of course I feel like we can be super fast but we have to work like a normal weekend. I feel we have the potential to fight for victory but we have to move forward step by step: first Friday, then we will see what our speed will be. »
After the race,What are you going to test on Monday: what do you hope to get from Yamaha?
«
I hope for power (laughs). To be honest, I feel really good on the bike. We can always find a little something extra, and the main thing to find is power, but I haven't spoken with them about testing. I think we have a swingarm and some electronics to try, but I don't have much information regarding Monday. »
Jerez is a short circuit where everyone has a lot of data collected during testing. Do you think this will make for a very competitive race?
« To be honest, I think in testing it's always different, because you never know who is using new tires or who is working on the pace. During the weekend, the most important thing will be to do a very good qualification, because as Aleix said previously, there were 15 of us in four or five tenths. But this is on one lap, so you have to work on the pace and that will be the most important thing: qualifying really well and working on your pace. And that will make the difference. »
It is now official that you will only have six days of testing next year. What do you think ?
« Overall, it was the first time this year where we did two days of testing in Malaysia, and from my side I think it was enough. But taking away a day at the end of the season, I think I don't really agree with that. But in the end, it's the same for everyone, so it's the same. »
You said on this subject that you were in “Kimi mode”: is there a deadline for you regarding your future? Some people say you don't want to leave Yamaha in order to maybe get a higher salary...
« To be honest I won't talk about my future but I have a clear goal for this year, which is to win or at least fight for the championship. But I have no say in my future and I have people around me who take care of that. »
Several riders have said that it is increasingly difficult to overtake in MotoGP this year, particularly because of aerodynamics. Do you agree ?
«
(Sigh) For me, yes, but in the end, when we are at the start of the race with all the riders, like with Aleix who in my opinion had one of the best starts I have seen in MotoGP during the first five corners, because he was totally on the limit and he made the right choices…
Just comparing the last three years, I remember that just to start, you would get to neutral, you would just press the launch control button and you would go. Now you have to do a lot of things, and I think of course you save a little bit of time, but it's true that everything is more complicated. But in the end, it's the same for everyone, but it's true that for me it's more difficult to overtake. »
