Via the official website MotoGP.com, we attended the MotoGP post-qualifying conference of the San Marino Grand Prix on Saturday which brought together Maverick Viñales, Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo, Sam Lowes and Ai Ogura.
As usual, we report here the entirety of the comments of Fabio Quartararo, without the slightest formatting.
Fabio, we know you didn't want to be the third fastest Yamaha. This wasn't your plan, but luckily the first line was the most important for you today...
fabio quartararo : " Yes ! Like last year. I felt very good in FP3 but qualifying last year was exactly the same: No feeling with the front. And on this kind of circuit, with the fast corners, if you don't have the right feeling, you can't really attack. But I'm very happy because being able to still get the first line was the most important thing. Last year we also finished in the same position, and the pace is very good: I feel much better than last year regarding the pace. It's very positive because we are fast with the hard tire and the medium. It will be difficult to choose because I have a good feeling with the hard, but also with the medium. We will see what the temperatures are like tomorrow but both options are very good for the race. »
It’s a great chance for all Yamaha riders to bring home big points in the championship…
« You know, I think after the three bad races we had in Austria and Brno, when I saw the four Yamahas in the lead, even though I wasn't the fastest, I was very happy for Yamaha: Finally, the bike has the potential to fight for victory again. Yes, for me it was very important to see the bike in the lead and find the feeling again. We knew Misano was going to be better because the circuit suits the Yamahas better than in Austria. Yes, I'm very looking forward to tomorrow because I feel good in the race. »
How much did Valentino Rossi impress you this morning?
« Maybe it's because of his special helmet, I don't know (laughs). It was very impressive ! We know that the VR46 Academy comes here to Misano quite often, but with the R1 or the R6 it's completely different from the M1, so… »
« He's always impressive when he's in the lead, like in FP3 at Silverstone last year, and here this year at Misano. So I'm very impressed with him and he showed that he really wants to continue next year. Yes, I was happy to see him in the lead! »
We have four Yamahas, two Ducatis, two Suzukis, two Ducatis and two KTMs: do you have an explanation for these groupings?
« It's like in Austria. If you look at the result of the second race, it was KTM, Ducati, Suzuki… It depends on which circuit we ride and if our bike is better or not. It's not something very clear, but when you come from three races where you were slow for whatever reason and you arrive at a track where you really have the potential to win, each of the four Yamaha riders attacks at the limit to be there and feel that we have the potential to win. So I think that one of the explanations is that we have all suffered during these races, and that we arrive at a circuit where we feel good on the bike and where we finally have fun. »
Will victory be between the Yamaha or do you think there will be other opponents?
« If I'm not mistaken, I think Jack is fifth, so with the rocket he has at the start, he will be there for sure at the first corner. We know he always gets very good starts and it will be important not to lose too much time. But it seems that the Yamahas have a little more pace than the others. Maybe Rins is also very fast, but for me it will be a fight between Yamaha if everyone arrives unscathed at the halfway point because I think we have a little more pace at the end. »
All the rear tires were used in FP4: Do you think they will be used during the race as well?
« Yes. For me I think the soft tire at the front is too soft, but the medium and hard are possible, as at the rear. So we'll see, but yes. I saw a few riders with the soft front tire, and it worked very well too. We will see ! It's quite fun to see these different choices for tomorrow's race, and hopefully we'll see a lot of drivers with different tires to make it a fun race. »
Is it very important to gain an advantage here before circuits which will be less favorable to you?
« I think so because if you look at the Ducatis, OK they are not at their best here in Misano but it seems they are more consistent than us. In Austria we struggled a lot, and here all the Yamahas are in the top five: We have more ups and downs while the Ducatis are a little more regular. So of course we have to be as high as possible in the rankings tomorrow and at Misano 2. Then there is Barcelona and Le Mans where all the bikes are working very well. So yes, at any time, if you have the possibility of winning or making a podium, you have to go for it. »
Stefan Bradl tested a communication system yesterday. What do you think ?
« It's hard enough to fly without someone talking to you, so I can imagine how hard it would be to talk while flying. I think something that's very important is that when the team sends you information on the dashboard, it's about the next sector. That way, you have at least twenty seconds even if some sectors are short. So for me, there should be clearer messages on the dashboard, for example if there is a motorcycle in the middle of the turn. You must send clear messages. For the radio, we will see: We cannot know without having tried it. But of course, Dorna must work to send clearer messages: Not if someone is following you but only if there is real danger on the trail. They then have to “moto 1 in the middle” or something like that. We'll see what Stefan thinks about radio. »
You work a lot with your engineers, your technicians, and a lot of people, but isn't the essence of racing when you're alone on your bike? So why would we need a radio?
« I think when you're racing, all the work was done on Friday and Saturday. The race is not as long as in Formula 1 where there are sometimes 60 or 70 laps. In the end, you do your job and you know that you don't have to go through the pitlane to change your tires. During testing, you work a lot to know when to change maps and all these things. So for me, talking during the race is not great, except for safety of course, if there is for example a red flag. But it's difficult, because imagine that they talk to you in the middle of the turn and it bothers you... »
« It is not easy ! It will be good to find out about this on Tuesday and I'm curious because it's something really new, so we can't know if it will really bother us: I've never had someone talk to me through the headset when I was flying! We will see… »
With Ducati struggling here, do you think Misano will be a key point in the championship?
« I think at the moment we just have to think about doing our best. It's not like there are only two or three races left and you have to think about the championship: For me, right now, the best way to think about the championship is winning tomorrow or finishing on the podium. So for me, it's just about having fun, and trying to do our best tomorrow. We know that the Ducatis struggle more than us, because we don't struggle much (laughs), but we have to score as many points as possible because then come Barcelona and Le Mans where I think it's 50/50 for Yamaha and Ducati . But afterwards, in Aragón, the straight line is really very long… »
« We'll see, but if we have the potential to win, we will, and it's the same for the podium. »
Do the Yamahas have an advantage over the others on the bumps?
« I haven't ridden any bikes other than the Yamahas, so we don't know if we have an advantage. But what I saw is that our bike works well and I feel good on the bumps. We'll see but in my opinion we can't really say that we have an advantage over the moguls. On the circuit, perhaps, because we know we were very fast last year. But maybe not on the bumps. If I remember correctly, Dovi won at Silverstone two or three years ago when it was very bumpy. We can't say if we have an advantage or not, but we can say that our bike is working very well. »
Q2 standings Lenovo San Marino and Rimini Riviera MotoGP Grand Prix in Misano:
Q1 standings Lenovo San Marino and Rimini Riviera MotoGP Grand Prix in Misano:
Credit rankings: MotoGP.com
