MotoGP 2019, Valencia Tests, D.2: Big progress for Fabio Quartararo!

It is with great humility that Fabio Quartararo told us yesterday that he needed time to assimilate the new situation presented by his Yamaha M1.

Credited with 23rd place, 2,4 seconds behind the best time, the French driver admitted having to work above all on his braking, which was far too early given the possibilities offered by the carbon discs.

This is what he did during this 2nd day of MotoGP testing in Valencia, and the result is quite spectacular: 16th, 1,3 seconds behind the best time, with a time improvement of 1,8 seconds!

As is usual when the paddock is being dismantled, El Diablo spoke to the press between 2 trucks.

fabio quartararo : “It was a really fantastic and really positive day! Today we were able to do more than 60 laps and I am very satisfied because the feeling was very positive. We managed to brake much later, which was our goal today. We improved yesterday's time by almost 2 seconds and the feeling on the bike was better. So I'm really looking forward to being in Jerez to try the bike again. We have taken a big step forward and there are still one or two steps to take in Jerez.”

What are you going to work on now?

“Now we have to try not to do wheelies on the straights because we lose a little time there. Compared to some drivers I followed, I saw that on the straight my anti-wheelie worked way too much. We have improved the braking a lot since yesterday, but of course we have to take another step forward.”

Will you have any parts to test in Jerez?

“I still have to talk about it with the team, but I think we need to adapt the bike a little more because I didn't really feel it yet when they were making changes. Now I'm starting to feel better on the bike and it's really good. We will try to adapt a little more to the bike. I am very happy with the work and I thank the team for their incredible work.”

Were you able to follow any other drivers today?

“Yes, I followed Alex Rins for 2 laps because he was on worn tires, while I had new tires. And I saw that even with new tires, I was doing more wheelies than him. So I have to position myself further forward on the bike to try to do less wheelies.”

Yesterday you said you braked 100 meters too early. How much has it been reduced today?

“(Laughs) No, it’s true that yesterday I braked about 20 meters too early and today we have to look, but I think we won more than half.”

You went from 2,4 seconds to 1,3 seconds. This is great progress...

“Yes, it’s definitely a very good progression. What's also positive is that I didn't just go for a ride. I did several laps at a very good pace and that's the goal. It wasn't to do a lap and the second fastest lap by 1/2 second. Today, that's what we managed to do: regular times. Even when we put on new tires, I gained 1/2 a second and I managed to keep that pace for the entire duration of the tires with the worn tires. Then when I put new tires on, I gained another 1/2 second, so that’s really good.”

You explained that you had to brake harder but maintain your speed when cornering...

“Actually, I lack a bit of speed to get to the middle of the corner. This means that my entry into the corner is still a little too gentle. I have to brake a little later and have the same passing speed.”

Did you experience some heat during these 2 days?

“I didn't experience any falling, but it's true that I got shaken several times. Coming out of turn 1, I lost the toe clip, and it's true that it shook me up a bit. Afterwards, the objective is to do laps, and it is certain that over the 100 laps that we have done, it is normal to have small scares.”

There were starting tests at the end of the day. What are your feelings about electronics, like Launch Control?

“I made 3 starts. The first one was really difficult but for the next two, I was told it wasn't bad. We were 2/1 away from making a really good start. I didn't feel great on these starts so I'm waiting for the moment to be more comfortable to make really good starts.”

Pos		Pile	Team	Chrono	1st gap	Previous deviation	Tours
1		VIÑALES, Maverick	Yamaha Factory Racing	1:30.757			50 / 57
2		DOVIZIOSO, Andrew	Ducati Team	1:30.890	0.133	0.133	39 / 57
3		MARCHEZ, Marc	Repsol Honda Team	1:30.911	0.154	0.021	39 / 53
4		MILLER, Jack	Alma Pramac Racing	1:30.939	0.182	0.028	63 / 66
5		PETRUCCI, Danilo	Ducati Team	1:30.959	0.202	0.020	57 / 60
6		MORBIDELLI, Franco	Petronas Yamaha SRT	1:30.974	0.217	0.015	44 / 58
7		Rins, Alex	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	1:31.254	0.497	0.280	65 / 69
8		NAKAGAMI, Takaaki	LCR Honda IDEMITSU	1:31.304	0.547	0.050	68 / 70
9		Rossi, Valentine	Yamaha Factory Racing	1:31.371	0.614	0.067	38 / 63
10		Espargaro, Aleix	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	1:31.400	0.643	0.029	37 / 55
11		BAGNAIA, Francis	Alma Pramac Racing	1:31.405	0.648	0.005	44 / 49
12		LORENZO, Jorge	Repsol Honda Team	1:31.584	0.827	0.179	40 / 46
13		ESPARGARÓ, Pol	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	1:31.628	0.871	0.044	45 / 47
14		MIR, Joan	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	1:31.714	0.957	0.086	42 / 56
15		RABAT, Tito	Royal Avintia Racing	1:31.940	1.183	0.226	49 / 59
16		QUARTARARO, Fabio	Petronas Yamaha SRT	1:32.091	1.334	0.151	61 / 63
17		IANNON, Andrew	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	1:32.124	1.367	0.033	31 / 32
18		Folger, Jonas	Yamaha Test Team	1:32.265	1.508	0.141	29 / 47
19		PIRRO, Michael	Ducati Team	1:32.376	1.619	0.111	10 / 14
20		ZARCO, Johann	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	1:32.509	1.752	0.133	38 / 50
21		ABRAHAM, Karel	Royal Avintia Racing	1:32.906	2.149	0.397	35 / 52
22		SYAHRIN, Hafizh	KTM Tech 3 Racing	1:33.008	2.251	0.102	31 / 43
23		SMITH, Bradley	Aprilia Racing Test Team	1:33.028	2.271	0.020	49 / 58
24		OLIVEIRA, Miguel	KTM Tech 3 Racing	1:33.798	3.041	0.770	45 / 46