MotoGP, Qatar J2 Test, Fabio Quartararo: “when I put on the new tire, I deactivate my brain”

We expected him to be in the top 10 at best and here he is squarely in the top three. Exactly in third place. fabio quartararo, at 19 years old, surprised the MotoGP field and all observers by only three tenths behind the best time of 1'54.533 achieved this evening by Álex Rins. The newbie and the Yamaha Petronas have apparently found each other.

fabio quartararo third behind Casa Particular in Viñales et Kidneys, this is not the epilogue that we necessarily expected for this second evening in Qatar. Petrucci and Marc Márquez who complete the top 5 cannot believe it while the Frenchman's teammate, Franco Morbidelli, settled for thirteenth place.

« I work on the braking zone “, declared the tricolor. “ I took a big step forward compared to Sepang. I feel more comfortable when taking turns. It’s a very positive point for my driving style and for me.” He explains his technique… “Honestly, when I put the new tire on, I deactivate my brain and say to it: let's see what happens in the braking zone! I braked later, harder and the bike was still good. It's really positive for my brain to know that I can brake later ».

« It seems easy but it sure isn’t! On the straight you get here at 340 km/h, so five meters can change a lot. It all happens meter by meter. You really have to be so specific » assures the compatriot of Johann zarco seventeenth. “ The only thing you can do for braking with these bikes is to go for laps and start thinking about a braking reference point. You have to have a fixed one and then, each time, try to brake a little later. But today I'm happy with the braking zone ».

Quarterly added on crash.net: « we know the Yamaha works well. We are trying some adjustments on the bike, but nothing major because I already feel good with the M1. The handling is not that bad ».

Seventh yesterday, third today, but what's in store for us? fabio quartararo tomorrow which concludes: It was a very positive Sunday evening for us here at Losail and we learned a lot about motorcycling. We maintained a good pace with the worn tires and we also took a big step forward in terms of our time attacks. Tonight was the first time I came out of the box thinking, "I'm going to have a fast lap no matter what," and I'm happy with the times we achieved, especially when I did three good laps alone. The objective for tomorrow is to do a longer run to check how the tires work when they are already worn, and at the end of the evening we will attempt another attack on the clock.”

MotoGP, Qatar J2 Test: times

1	42	Alex Rins	Suzuki GSX-RR	1:54.593
2	12	Maverick Vinales	Yamaha M1	1:54.650	0.057	0.057
3	20	fabio quartararo	Yamaha M1	1:54.908	0.315	0.258
4	9	Danilo Petrucci	Ducati GP19	1:54.953	0.360	0.045
5	93	Marc Márquez	Honda RC213V	1:55.004	0.411	0.051
6	41	Aleix Espargaró	Aprilia RS-GP	1:55.173	0.580	0.169
7	30	Takaaki Nakagami	Honda RC213V	1:55.175	0.582	0.002
8	4	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati GP19	1:55.205	0.612	0.030
9	35	Cal Crutchlow	Honda RC213V	1:55.247	0.654	0.042
10	44	Pol Espargaro	KTM RC16	1:55.255	0.662	0.008
11	36	Joan mir	Suzuki GSX-RR	1:55.280	0.687	0.025
12	43	Jack Miller	Ducati GP19	1:55.380	0.787	0.100
13	21	Franco Morbidelli	Yamaha M1	1:55.556	0.963	0.176
14	53	Tito Rabat	Ducati GP18	1:55.661	1.068	0.105
15	63	Francis Bagnaia	Ducati GP18	1:55.680	1.087	0.019
16	29	Andrea Iannone	Aprilia RS-GP	1:55.698	1.105	0.018
17	5	Johann zarco	KTM RC16	1:55.716	1.123	0.018
18	99	Jorge Lorenzo	Honda RC213V	1:55.742	1.149	0.026
19	46	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha M1	1:55.795	1.202	0.053
20	17	Karel Abraham	Ducati GP18	1:55.951	1.358	0.156
21	88	Miguel Oliveira	KTM RC16	1:56.274	1.681	0.323
22	38	Bradley Smith	Aprilia RS-GP	1:56.866	2.273	0.592
23	55	Hafiz Syahrin	KTM RC16	1:56.983	2.390	0.117