MotoGP, Quartararo: “The first three laps were a nightmare, I had no grip”

In Mandalika, Fabio Quartararo discovered that you can be happy even on a rainy day; in Termas de Rio Hondo, that Saturday’s dreams can melt on Sunday. The world champion started from the second row. He was 9th on the first lap, 13th on the third, and 8th at the finish line. A rollercoaster that didn’t give him chills but only disappointment.

“I wasn’t one of my best starts, but not even one of my worst,” the world champion explained. “The problem is that everyone passed me on the straight, and the first three laps were a nightmare. I had no grip and tried to be light on the throttle at the turns, at six, so as not to overheat the tires, and they passed me there too.”

Fortunately, it got better.

“But overtaking on the Yamaha is always difficult for us,” he stressed. “The frustrating thing is to have felt good for all the free practice rounds and then have totally different feelings in the race. When there was more Michelin rubber on the track, I was faster, but I was far from the first.”

The results weren’t positive.

“This isn’t one of the best tracks for the M1. The straight is long. I never gave up, but doing better today was difficult,” he said. “I didn’t make many mistakes, but the others had more grip. I didn’t have things under control. I understood from the warm-up lap that it would be difficult, but it’s in the past. We have to focus on the next race.”

This start to the championship was full of surprises, both negative and positive. Espargarò and Binder are at the top of the rankings.

“I didn’t expect to see Aleix and Brad up front, and I didn’t expect to suffer that much either. Did only motorcycles with a V4 engine win? I’m not worried right now, but you never know,” he said.

Then he complimented Aleix.

“I’m happy for him. He’s worked hard in recent years without ever complaining too much. But now he has to stop,” he said jokingly. “My first victory in the MotoGP was the best moment of my career. I imagine it’s worth even more to him. He deserved it. I also congratulate Aprilia. I remember their first year with Melandri. They had started off from far behind.”