This Saturday March 19, 2022, Fabio Quartararo answered questions from journalists from the Mandalika Circuit on the island of Lombok, at the end of the second day of the 2022 Indonesian Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French driver who is having his Indonesian weekend by achieving pole position, the first since Barcelona 2021.
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).
Fabio, you were fastest in FP2 and you got a perhaps crucial pole position, but you were also very fast in FP4. This looks good…
fabio quartararo : " Yes, I felt very good. In the end, on one lap it had been a long time since I had felt this good, and here I felt very good from FP2 when I put on the soft rear tire. I'm also very happy with FP4 because I did 14 or 15 laps in a row and the pace was very good. I think it was the most important thing to do these laps in a row to see the consistency of the rear tire. I'm very happy because I expected a lot more degradation on the back. To be honest, I feel very good and tomorrow I will maybe try the medium during the warm up, or I will do more laps with the soft. »
What kind of racing are you expecting tomorrow?
« It's difficult to know because it's a new circuit and we don't know exactly what to expect, but my main goal is to try to do my best and in the end we'll see what result we get. But the first thing is that I felt much better than in Qatar and I feel that my potential is much higher to fight here for a podium or victory. So we will see what we can do but the first thing is to have fun, then we will see what the result will be. »
Many drivers predict that it will be very difficult to follow tomorrow, because of the heat in the front tire. Does this make your pole position today the most important in a very long time?
« Yes, because with our bike we suffer a lot when overtaking, so you have to play with the pressure a little before the start. But on this kind of circuit where it's very hot, it's always better to start at the front than at the back, so I think it's a very suitable track to start from the front row. We'll see how my start will be but normally I'm not too bad this year (laughs). »
How do you feel about the new Michelin tires with the stiffer carcass?
« For me, I prefer the test tires which, in my opinion, offer more performance and consistency. This tire is a little more comfortable to ride, you feel a little less on the limit but you feel that it has less performance and that it slips a little more. But it's a small difference. I have a slight preference for the test tire.
»
If the race takes place in the wet tomorrow, will this affect your level of performance?
« I think I made a little progress in the wet. Not really in the wet, but even last year with wet tires on a dry track I felt really bad and we made a pretty big change to the bike and I felt a lot better. Ultimately, I can't control the weather, so whether it's raining or dry, I'll do my best. But of course, if I have to choose, it will be in the dry. »
How does the resurfaced part of the circuit behave?
« To be honest, I think it's strange. In my opinion, it's much better in the parts where you accelerate but it's worse when braking. And there's also always patches of moisture which I think are quite dangerous between turns four and five, because I think that's one of the fastest parts of the circuit. On the other hand, regarding the small gravels that we received during the test, there are much fewer of them. So if I have to choose, it is much better now than during the test. »
The trajectories apparently remain very narrow. Will this be pressure from the aggressive drivers from behind or an advantage?
« For me it is one of the trickiest tracks to overtake and that is why I said it was positive to start from the first row. Regarding the tires, I feel pretty good because I did a total of 19 laps with the hard rear, and my last lap was maybe not the fastest but it was really close. So it's positive and I think that the degradation is not massive: you feel a degradation but you can drive in a different way to make the time. »
How different is it riding the Yamaha here and in Qatar?
« There are two things, not too much straight line and a lot more grip. I think those are the most important things we need, and even more than the straight line, I think it's the rear grip. When we have this we can be very fast, but when we don't have it there is a great degradation. Let's say we can't really have something in the middle: either it's very good or it's very bad. Yes, I think that's the biggest progress. »
Were you surprised to see no Honda in Q2?
« Yes, of course, I expected much better because they were very fast during the test. Pol had incredible pace over one lap, just like Marc… everyone! But it seems that the rear tire affects them quite a bit, as does Joan Mir. But ultimately, you need to stay focused on yourself and not focus too much on others. »
Results of Qualifying 2 of the Indonesian MotoGP Grand Prix at Mandalika Circuit:
Results of Qualifying 1 of the Indonesian MotoGP Grand Prix at Mandalika Circuit:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
