Fabio Quartararo, like his other Grand Prix colleagues, entered his winter break, but unlike some, he did not give up training. No doubt driven by the spirit of revenge after having had to cede his world crown to Pecco Bagnaia, he does not relax too much while his successor on the MotoGP throne goes from evening to celebration, collecting honors and rewards. He spoke once again about his last campaign before still enjoying the holidays, recalling his key points and, above all, the level of evolution of his Yamaha...
fabio quartararo dropped a few words to speedweek returning from a motocross session, a context that the Frenchman explains as follows: “I rested for a few days. NOW, I want to train to be in top shape for the Sepang test ". We will still remind you that this trip to Malaysia is planned for the beginning of next February. But the tricolor is apparently already in combat mode.
A mobilization which is undoubtedly explained by a certain frustration anchored in the mind of the tricolor because of a 2022 exercise where he truly felt alone against everyone. Against the Ducati, of course, but also against Yamaha who did not give him the weapons to really have a chance. Because it is clear that, from his point of view, he gave his best: “from my point of view, I rode better this year than last year, but there were times when he "It was very difficult to face reality," he said.
Then he goes into detail. First the side Yamaha : " neither the client team drivers nor my teammate were competitive, so I had no reference except myself. I had to assume the bike's limit was what I had reached », explains the pilot of 23 years. And he recalls well the technical situation with which Iwata’s brand left him to struggle: “ the others have improved enormously, we are at the level of 2019, or even worse. And there are three years between the two ».
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Fabio Quartararo: “ I found the long lap penalty at Silverstone unfair«
Then the pangs of competition: “ until the Dutch TT we hadn't had a single accident in the race. For the Assen incident, I received a penalty for a “long lap” for Silverstone, which I found unfair. We also made a mistake with the choice of tires… It was two unlucky races, but it can happen ».
Because it was definitely not at that moment that he switched to the dark side of the force. As he has already proclaimed it previously, he signals the San Marino Grand Prix like the fateful moment: “ It was in Misano that I realized our chances were slim. Last year I managed to get three seconds back from Pecco and finish just behind him. This year I finished fifth, five seconds behind, after a race which was good for me and in which I gave my all. And it was very frustrating for me because I gave 100% and we were so far behind ».
Morale took a hit: “ I got on the bike with much less enthusiasm than in previous years. You may not even think about it consciously, but subconsciously you feel it. You don't love what you do and this way you will inevitably fall short of your potential. There have been several races this year where I went out on track like that, without enjoying it ».
Fabio Quartararo ends by mentioning another point which weighed in his failure to keep his crown, and it directly concerns his employer for 2023: « I am a winning driver, I want to win, but… Until a few years ago, every brand had positive and negative sides. We had a much better chassis than the others, but this year it wasn't like that. We also have a lot less power compared to our rivals. In qualifying it worked less well than before. We gave up our advantage without gaining anything in return ».
And he ends his presentation thus: “ for me, the key to winning the title in 2021 has been on the first row of the starting grid 14 times, instead of five times this year, including only one pole position. And of course it had an impact on our chances in the world title race ».
