First this morning, third this afternoon, Fabio Quartararo did not miss his first day in Germany, even if he got angry at the end of FP2 against Franco Morbidelli and Takaaki Nakagami who were slower than him on the trajectory.
As usual, we report here the raw words of fabio quartararo, without the slightest journalistic interpretation, held in front of the Petronas Yamaha SRT truck.
In English: You seemed angry at the end of FP2…
fabio quartararo : “(laughs) No, I was disappointed for 5 minutes. You know, when you put on a soft tire, it's the best time of the day. You do all the work and that's the fun part of the day, and unfortunately we couldn't really get a good time on that tire. But that's OK. I was very angry but I have to be more calm in these conditions. It happened to me today but I hope that if it happens to me again one day, I would react differently.”
It seems that Marc has a slightly better race pace than yours, but yours is already very good…
“Yes, my running pace is good. We know he's very strong, let's say on two tracks. It's just my first day in MotoGP at Sachsenring, so I'm really looking at the data to know where I can improve and what part of the bike I can improve for tomorrow. And if we improve our pace by another tenth or two, that will be very good.”
How is your arm?
“My arm is pretty OK. It's fine in the left corners and we really don't suffer in the right corners, but it's still not perfect, so we're really looking forward to getting it 100%.”
Have you watched MotoE?
“I didn't really watch the MotoE because I was at the mobile clinic for my arm, but I will watch the E-Pole tomorrow because for sure it will be a lot of fun since it only takes place over one lap. So I’ll look tomorrow.”
After Assen which was favorable to the Yamaha, is it the same thing here?
“For me, the Yamaha is good everywhere! It's just that there are some areas of motorcycling that are very positive, and others less so. Here it is true that there are not many straight lines and that the bike is very good. For me, the bike is good and everything is OK, so it’s a good circuit for us.”
Were you able to follow Márquez?
" Not today. I didn't follow him. Today, I worked more alone than with other drivers, but it’s true that it’s a short track to overtake.”
This morning, you were faster than him. Does this make you hope for something good?
“This morning, we put on new tires while he stayed on the same tires throughout the session, so... But it's good for confidence to be in the top 5 since FP1. This also allows you to work well in FP2 and only switch to the soft tire at the end. But no, for the moment, I'm only thinking about our work for tomorrow. We still have to improve something and I hope we will work well in FP3.”
In French: Third, is it a disaster?
“(Laughs) no, it's like I said: For me, the best time of the day is when you put on the soft tire. We can really go have fun and go really fast. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do it.”
Because of Morbidelli and Nakagami?
“Nakagami, again, it’s an incident, but Morbidelli… But that’s it, it’s like that, I have to learn to ride with anticipation. This is one of the first times this has happened to me and I think it was a bit normal too because I was a bit nervous on the bike. I think we’ll have to stay a little calmer next time.”
It's still a very different circuit from the ones you've done since the start of the year with this bike. But right away, once again, you confirm that you are comfortable and that you have no problem adapting. Did you expect to feel this good right away?
“No, because it’s a circuit that has never worked for me. It's a circuit where I always had difficulty compared to the tires which were always much too hard for us. And there, frankly, I felt really good. And even with the hard tire, I had a great feeling, like with the medium. Unfortunately, I couldn't really test the soft 100% but for the moment I feel good with all 3 tires. And it’s really positive for Sunday.”
What type of tires are you going for for the race?
“I haven’t started to think about it. I always try to decide on Saturday, but in the end it always ends on Sunday. So I think we'll have to roll with the software a little to see if the consistency is good or not. But for now, it’s certain that we are between the medium and the hard.”
What is the most technical place on this circuit with a MotoGP?
“Especially the 2nd sector, because we are always on the corner, and on this bike, we really overheat the left side of the tire. I really try to make it slide as little as possible to avoid tire wear and spin. And I think that’s the most complicated thing.”
Is it physical, staying under the bike and trying to raise it a little?
“Yes, it’s super physical, especially on the left side, because we’re always correcting, really trying to be perfect, and it’s physical, let’s say muscular.”
What happened at turn 3?
“Nothing, just a little slip and I lost my toe clip, but nothing serious.”
FP2 classification of the MotoGP German Grand Prix at Sachsenring:
Credit ranking: MotoGP.com
