On this Saturday March 6, 2021, fabio quartararo answered questions from journalists from the Losail circuit in Qatar, following the first day of official MotoGP testing on his Yamaha YZR-M1 from the Monster Energy Yamaha team.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the French pilot.
As usual, we report here the words of Fabio Quartararo without the slightest formatting, even if the first part is translated from English (vouvoiement).
fabio quartararo : " It was a cool day and I'm very happy, but I struggled a lot to use the M1 again, honestly, for more than half the day, because I was completely lost switching from the R1 to the M1. In the end, I'm happy because the feeling was very good at the end and we were able to do some very good tests. I feel very good in the factory team and I like the atmosphere. I think we will progress step by step. »
Did you feel any differences from last year's bike and what did you test today?
« As we said, we are testing the new chassis, a bit like the old bike, and as I said it took me half a day to be back riding the bike properly. So I can't really say if it was better or not. Tomorrow we will have one more day to try it properly and I will be able to feel it in a little more detail. The time was slower and personally I wasn't riding at 100%, so we will have a better chance of experiencing the bike tomorrow. »
Maio Meregalli said that we would soon know if the bike was better or not, because the changes they made were intended to make it a little closer in cornering to Franco's last year. Could you feel a little difference?
« For now, I told the team that it had been a tough day for me to be back on the M1. Honestly, it wasn't easy trying to give clear feedback, so I can't say if it was better or worse in cornering. Also because we put new tires on at the start, when I wasn't driving great. Until the last laps my feeling wasn't great, so I prefer to wait until tomorrow to really give my comments about the new chassis, because, at the moment, it's difficult to say. »
Did you get any feedback from the test drivers yesterday?
« Honestly, I haven't really talked to Cal, Nozane and Nakasuga. I'll talk to them more today because I saw Cal was quick. So yes, I will ask them for their feedback, even if the conditions were tricky and windy. I didn't really have the opportunity to talk to them. »
What is the main difference between the way of working in a factory team and that in a satellite team?
« Maybe it's too early to say because it's only my first day as a factory rider, but what I can say is that you have a lot more people in blue in the box. You feel a lot more responsibility, but I like this kind of work. Yes, for the first day I can just tell you that there are a lot more people and you feel a lot more responsibility. »
How did the recovery go for you, physically and mentally?
« Honestly, I expected worse physically. Honestly, I feel great and I did 70 laps today, apart from my hands which are quite destroyed. Normally, my arms and a little bit of my legs hurt all the time, but today, I really feel good physically. But I really had a hard time getting used to the M1. I thought it was going to be a little faster, but it took me a while. So I'm looking forward to tomorrow so I can start from the beginning and really have fun. Honestly, it wasn't easy today! »
Credit ranking: MotoGP.com
