On this Sunday, May 30, 2021, fabio quartararo answered questions from journalists from the Mugello circuit after the Italian Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French driver who currently occupies 1st place in the championship and had just won his 3rd victory of the season.
The post-Italian Grand Prix press conference at Mugello, which brought together Fabio Quartararo, Miguel Oliveira and Joan Mir, was held in a particularly heavy atmosphere, following the death of Jason Dupasquier.
As usual, we report here the words of fabio quartararo without the slightest formatting, even if it is translated from English in the first part (vouvoiement).
Fabio, you have made a very good start with your new start device. Then you struggled a little to overtake the Ducati but when you did, you were unstoppable: well done!
fabio quartararo : " Thank you so much ! Yes, it was hard because when you have a minute of silence before the start, for my part the emotion comes very quickly and it's difficult to stay focused. I had a plan which was to make a very good start, because we knew that the device works very well, and I wanted to attack to arrive first at the first corner after one lap. It took me two laps, one after Pecco crashed, then we decided to attack. It was difficult because we knew the rear tire was going to wear a lot, but yes, we got the victory and this one is for Jason and his whole family. »
What did you think when you saw Pecco Bagnaia fall so quickly?
« Honestly, the wind was blowing really hard in this turn and it was pushing us towards the outside. At the Safety Commission, many drivers reported that the curb on the outside was a little lower than the (white) line, so when you want to come back, the wheel must do something a little strange, like s 'there was a little step, and you lose the front. Normally no one goes on the curb in this bend, but it widened a little because of the wind. He made a mistake and it's a shame for him. »
The Yamaha has progressed but you also seem more mature: has that helped you?
« Yes ! I learned a lot from last year. When you start by winning the first two races, you feel different. I have never led a championship in my life, apart from the CEV. You're here, and you're first in MotoGP, so you wonder what's going on. Before, it was victories, crashes, 12th or 13th places, but now I have acquired a lot of maturity, as a rider but also as a person, and I think that helps us a lot for the kind of work we have during the weekend. »
How do you prepare for the race after such bad news?
« I think there is no preparation. You just go there and try to forget. But every time you go through turn #9, there's just this one thing. It crosses your mind. But you're on a mission and you want to win, you want to get really good results. I think that, little by little, it disappears during the race, but the worst is that when you are leading and you have a little margin on the second, you start to think about a lot of things, and today Today it was Jason. »
What was your relationship like with Jason?
« Regarding our relationship, I never really met him, but he was a kid, he was 19 or 20 years old, and it's always hard to lose one of our pilots. We all race, we all know the risks of our sport, but when we have these kinds of moments, it's not easy. But yes, we will try to forget this difficult moment a little. »
Do you think there can be a better time to pay tribute than a few minutes before the start of the MotoGP race?
« I think it's a question of respect for the team, for the family and for Jason. It's a really hard moment for us and it's a moment of respect for them. I think even though it's difficult, we have to do it. It's not easy but we hope there won't be another moment like this before we leave. »
You won on circuits where we didn't necessarily expect the Yamahas. How do you see the rest of the championship?
« I think we have a complete package. OK, the top speed is not the best, but we won on two tracks for Ducati, everyone says Ducati in Qatar and Ducati here. But no one expected to have a Yamaha, a KTM and a Suzuki on the podium today. I think what we were missing was the forward gear, because our starts were terrible. We have improved a lot so I think for a lap the top speed is not that important, and for the race I have confidence that even if we don't have the top speed we try to manage without it. But our bike is working extremely well and I have a very good feeling with the front. And finally, there are not that many tracks where there is a long straight, so we will see in Barcelona since last year it was also very good there. »
Danilo Petrucci said he felt a bit dirty for continuing and racing, without there being a meeting where you were asked for your opinion. He also asked what would have happened if it had been a MotoGP rider. What are your thoughts on this?
« First of all, I don't want to respond anymore about Jason because I think everyone has expressed what our emotions are. It's our job, we know the difficult times that can sometimes happen over a long period of time, so I think it's unfortunate to say but it's our job. We are driving at 350 km/h, so this is not normal. That's how it is and I won't answer any more questions about Jason because he's not coming back. That's all for me. »
How does the front holeshot device work?
« I remember in 2019, you arrived, and you put the holeshot device on before the start, and that was it. Now you have to push something, brake, you have to do a lot of things, so the evolution goes very quickly. But it works really well. Since the start of the weekend I have felt good with it, and there is just a little worry when braking because normally the bike is high and we feel the load transfer from the rear to the front. But now the bike is so low that when you come to brake you're a little scared. But the feeling was good during the weekend and I think we are not yet using the full potential of the system. Of course we use a lot of it but I think there are things we can improve. »
Miguel Oliveira and Joan Mir were then questioned about the repeated penalty they received. Fabio Quartararo then shared his point of view.
« I think in the last round, if we don't win anything, it's a bit stupid. Everyone wants to fight, but if there's no winning... »
How is the 2021 Yamaha better than the 2020 Yamaha?
« In 2019, I was very consistent because I had a very good feeling with the front and I could really feel the limit. In 2020, I had no feeling with the front. In Jerez, in Barcelona, I was very fast but I could fall at any corner. But now, even in racing, and the best I had was at Jerez this year although unfortunately my race wasn't very long, you feel the front moving when you overtake and you know you're very close to the fall. It's thanks to this that I was able to take a step forward, even in qualifying. Here in particular I really pushed to the limit: you feel like you could fall at every turn but every time it goes well. This year our bike has this strong point, as in 2019. »
How is your arm and was it right to have surgery for compartment syndrome?
« Yes ! I am happy because currently I have no problems with the arm. Physically, I think if you ask all the riders, a good portion of them feel the shoulders or the triceps, I don't know the name exactly. I think it's one of the most physical circuits on the calendar, the most physical, for the arm, so I'm very happy to have had this operation. This time the operation was carried out perfectly, so I am very happy. »
Standings for the MotoGP Italian Grand Prix at Mugello:
Credit rankings and photo: MotoGP.com
