Sixth at the end of the first day of the Portuguese Grand Prix after finishing third in the tests on the same circuit a week ago, it is clear that things will not be easy for fabio quartararo on the Portimão circuit.
The Yamaha M1 he has has certainly not regressed in terms of chassis and has even progressed in terms of engine, but Iwata's engineers are taking small steps and are unable to catch up with the delays made in recent years. Even more worrying, the Ducatis, which we knew were overflowing with power, have made enormous progress in chassis, undoubtedly also in connection with aerodynamics, to the point of making the French rider think that they have even taken the upper hand in a area which was traditionally the strong point of the M1!
Comments fromThe Devil after P2 are unambiguous…
fabio quartararo : " I constantly drove at the limit, without strategy. I don't know exactly where I wasted time. I can't point to particular details. The whole thing is too slow. We're just not good enough at the moment. The rankings don't lie. Saturday's sprint will be very difficult for us. We are currently having a lot of trouble putting ourselves in a reasonable overtaking position against the numerous Ducatis. But we have more power now than in 2022, so it might be a little easier. But we will certainly have better chances over the whole distance on Sunday than in the sprint on Saturday at 15 p.m. That’s why I’m looking forward to Sunday’s race a lot more. I think I have a better chance. »
Can you specify?
« I think the Ducatis really manage to turn better than us, and that makes a big difference: they manage to turn better than us so they manage to lift the bike a little forward, so they have more grip. I think that's one thing that has a lot of consequences, and for us, that's where we really have to improve to try to perform better and better. »
Francesco Bagnaia is very strong when braking?
« Yes, I confirm that it is very very strong when braking. It really happens, not on the first part but on the part where it is already just before turning, the bike stops a lot. It's on this part, and when he turns the bike turns a lot. »
So you no longer have the classic advantage of the Yamaha…
« No not at all. We haven't had that strength at all since, I think two years where we were almost the same, but now they really overtook us. »
You are still a little more comfortable with the better bike…
“It's a little better, but then the others took another step forward. The difference was like that last year, we improved but the others improved too: it’s amazing! Their bike was already great and they managed to improve without getting lost. We wanted to take a big step forward but in the end we are still behind. »
Does what Jack Miller did today scare you, in the sense that he could also be in front?
« It's difficult to say but I think there are races, like in Valencia where Brad finished second while we had problems at the front, while normally we know that the KTMs use the hard tire a lot. We were at the limit with only two laps missing for Brad to win the race. So it's going to be difficult. In any case, we try to do our best. »
Does the new format bring more tension?
« It brings more tension, but especially in relation to the red flag. So we didn't really have a real P2. Two red flags in a session, I don’t think that’s ever happened since I’ve been in MotoGP. So we'll see, but so far so good. It was still intense! »
Did you have enough time to set up the bike for tomorrow's Sprint?
« We've had the tests, so it's okay, but afterwards, frankly, in a normal race, it's going to be tense but I think it's going to be, I'm not going to say better, but in any case it won't be a disadvantage. »
Results of P2 of the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Autodrome in Portimão:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
