Fabio Quartararo was Assen’s hero last year after a superior win in the TT, in Sunday’s edition the reigning world champion in MotoGP was out of place with a clumsy performance. He crashed twice and retired prematurely.
The first crash was on lap five, when he crashed after failing to overtake Spaniard Aleix Espargaró. “I made a rookie mistake. I took too much risk and attacked like it was the last corner of the race. Those are stupid mistakes. I’m learning from it, but you should never attack on the fifth lap like it’s the last lap “explained the Frenchman from the Yamaha factory team.
Quartararo resumed the race after that shift, but felt something was wrong with his engine. He drove into the pit lane, but was back on the track moments later. “I think there was a problem with the traction, but the team told me to continue. It could rain, I was told. It was not my decision. I was already a lap behind, so what could have happened? I can still do?”
A few laps later it still went wrong. He lost control of his Yamaha when coming out of the Strubben and flew over the handlebars of the machine against the asphalt. The result was a failure and a zero score. Quartararo nevertheless retained the championship lead. “I don’t have an answer to the question of who my main rival is now. Every race I fight against a different opponent; the level is very high and I think there are five or six title candidates.”