This Saturday September 18, 2021, Fabio Quartararo answered questions from journalists from the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, at the end of the second day of the Gran Premio Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French driver, who still leads the championship with 53 points ahead of Francis Bagnaia and 57 on Joan Mir, and who qualified first in line for the 13th time in the last 14 races.
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 quartararo : " Yes ! It's certain. This is the fourth qualifying I've done here in MotoGP, and I've always been in the same position, so I think we did a good job. On the last lap, I did a little too much in the first corner: We checked the data and I braked much too late. But that's what I wanted to do, and it was also good to push the limit up front. I'm very happy with the pace I had in FP4. During the second run we made a small change to the bike and I was able to improve with the worn tires. So yes, I can't wait to try this setting with a new tire. »
The weather forecast is uncertain for tomorrow. Would you like a warm up in the wet to try new things for the race?
« Yes, we have a lot of things to try, and in any case, if it's wet, I'll give it 100%. Because in the position we are in the wet, I think that currently we would have zero points (Laughs). I'll give 100% if it's wet, I'll give 100% if it's dry, but of course I hope it's dry, although I'm confident in all situations. »
How do you plan to attack Pecco Bagnaia, compared to what happened in Aragón?
« For my part, the situation is completely different from that of Aragón. Aragón, my pace was different and I suffered a lot more, whereas today I was really very good, very comfortable on the bike. So it's not a question of Pecco and me, I think it's a question of me trying to give my best and then we'll see. I don't have in mind that there is only Pecco because I am surrounded by a lot of drivers, and it will depend on my first laps. Here the race is very long, so we veSorry, but I think our pace is pretty good with the worn tires, so I'm confident and I think we can get a really good result. »
A few weeks ago you said you could lose a few points because you had a big lead. Will this still be the case tomorrow if you have to ensure a correct result and not attack too much?
“I’m going to attack!” I'm going to attack! I mean, there are five races left, not just one or two. So I'm going to push hard, but of course, if I see that I'm too close to the limit I'm not going to attack to the point of risking falling. But I think I attacked as much as possible until the end in Aragón: Even for one more point against Martín, I did my best. Of course I think that tomorrow I will have many more possibilities to be in front and I will give 100%. »
Today there were a lot of mosquitoes on the circuit. Did this bother you?
« Yes, it was really incredible at turn 12 coming out of the boxes: I had a lot of mosquitoes I immediately hoped that it wouldn't be like that every lap. We had to change the visor between the two runs because I didn't have enough tear-offs. It was truly amazing and I hope there will be less of it tomorrow. »
Can you race with the medium rear tire tomorrow, like you did in FP4?
« I did it with the medium but this morning I felt very good with the soft, even if I feel a lack of support at the front with the medium and the soft. I like both tires but it's true that if you look at my pace the medium is good. But it's not yet 100% clear to us: we will analyze the data and see which tire to use tomorrow. But at the moment, it's between tender and medium. »
We heard from Pecco and Johann Zarco that their training on the Panigale in Misano was useful to them. Do you think you should train more with a production bike like the R1?
« No ! It wouldn't help me because it's something I don't like doing, because it's completely different. When you go from the R1 to the M1, I'm lost. In my opinion there are too many differences and I don't really like it because the tires are different, like other things on the bike. I prefer to do my normal motocross training and work on my fitness, so I think it wouldn't help me much »
We saw a lot of falls in all categories today. Do you have an explanation ?
« Yes, especially in Moto3. This morning I watched the session and we saw someone falling all the time. It was weird but I don't have any particular explanation. I think the grip was very good today, but yes, everyone is pushing to the limit to go straight into Q2, then in qualifying everyone is attacking. But I don't have a particular explanation. »
You said your pace in the wet wouldn't bring you any points tomorrow. Are you really expecting disaster if the race is wet tomorrow?
« No, let's say I meant that the position I had in FP2 was 18th, so it didn't earn any points. We have to turn a corner, and that's why I said I have to give 100% and we'll see what happens if it rains. I must not be conservative in the rain (laughs)."
You are surrounded by Ducatis. In the past, you've said many times that you don't care if your teammate is close to you. But right now, wouldn't you like some help from other Yamahas?
«
(Laughs) For this race, a little! I'm exactly in the middle of four Ducatis, so of course it's not the ideal situation. It would be great to have blue bikes in front, but I hope Franco recovers and will be there quickly, because we are struggling a lot more than usual in qualifying. I'm trying to give good information to Yamaha, from what I saw today, and it was quite interesting. Yes, it's not super easy. »
Results of Qualifying 2 of the San Marino Grand Prix MotoGP:
Results of Qualifying 1 of the San Marino Grand Prix MotoGP:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
