This Friday, November 5, 2021, Fabio Quartararo answered questions from journalists from the Algarve International Autodrome in Portimão, at the end of the first day of the Grande Prémio Brembo do Algarve.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French driver, who is participating for the first time in a Grand Prix with a world title in his pocket but has obviously not yet finished his standoff with Francis Bagnaia...
As usual, we report here the words of Fabio Quartararo without the slightest formatting, apart from the questions in French, which then use familiarity (at the end of the interview).
Yesterday Francesco Bagnaia said he really wanted to fight with you. Apparently it could happen this weekend...
fabio quartararo : " To be honest, I think I'm impatient too, but it's not something I obsess over. Here, I want to have fun. This year we won the championship but I don't need to obsess: If we fight with Pecco, we fight with Pecco. If he wins or I win, that's OK, but more than fighting, I just want to ride free and fight until the end. But of course it would be a good fight with Pecco. »
Do you think it will be really tight?
« I don't know. Last time he finished 2nd after starting 11th, and the Ducati are very strong and we know that to overtake them is really difficult, but we will see. I think we can achieve something really good and there's no pressure at all. We'll see what we can do but I feel very good. »
Today, you are no longer able to drive completely free?
« Yes ! Yes, it was really good. I'm really happy to be driving at the limit. I feel great and it's an excellent moment in my career: it's the first time where I can really enjoy myself without having any pressure. So I'm having a lot of fun! »
You've had some heat...
« For me, at turn #5, it wasn't really a heat. I just braked too late and went wide, and the bike shook. But yes, at turn #13, I lost the front (laughs) and I lost my foot from the footrest. But yes, it was a beautiful day. »
Have you ever met Casey Stoner, and what did he say to you?
« Yes, I met Casey today and it was really good. It's a driver that I really like. I think that's the one that really made the MotoGP style different, really sliding, off the bike. I think Casey Stoner is the one who really did some crazy things on the bike and what he was doing with the Ducati was just fantastic. It was really good talking to him. It was short but, if I'm not mistaken, he will come back to Valencia and we will try to talk with him a little more. »
You say that this is the first time where you have been completely free to drive. Is this just about riding or also about trying new settings, like the hard rear tire that you were one of the few to use?
« You know, they sometimes say that without a little pressure, you drive even faster. That's not to say I would go faster, but just not caring about the outcome is something you never really have. Of course the goal is to fight for victory, but for me it's great. The hard rear tire is the one I used last April, but today I didn't feel that improvement that I had in April. So tomorrow we I think we will have to check exactly which tire we will use for the race, but all the tires seem OK so we will see what happens. »
Does free riding mean you try new things?
« Not really, we're not trying new things but we're just able to push a bit with a few tires and get some heat like we experienced today, but I had fun braking later in thus seeing that the front still held. These are things that I couldn't do in both races and that I did in practice today. So I felt good. »
The fact that there is no longer anything at stake for you, is it also an opportunity to try things while thinking about next year and the test you are going to have in Jerez?
« No, honestly, even with the new bike at Misano, we were on really similar settings, so trying new things I don't think it's going to be of any use. I think we just have to enjoy these two races and not think about 2022.
Next week is Jerez and we have to concentrate on these things first. »
MotoGP Algarve Grand Prix FP2 results in Portimão:
Credit Ranking: motogp.com
