“Of course Márquez can still be champion”

The ‘Devil’who acknowledges having a yamaha inferior, especially in power, top speed and grip, to the rest of the official bikes, including, yes, yes, the powerful aprilia Y suzukiacknowledges that it is frustrating to be the champion and to know, as happened in the last race in Austin (Texas, USA)that “you go out knowing that you are not going to be able to fight for victory and you have to settle, as I did, for having a precious fight with Marc (Márquez) in the last laps, in which Marc prevented me from finishing sixth”.

Quartararo, who hopes that, once the World Championship has arrived in Europe (the teams are already fully installed on the beautiful Portimao track), Yamaha can supply him with a little more power and ‘grip’, has recognized that the championship has had such an uncertain start that “Marc, if he manages to put his injuries behind him, is still one of the great favorites for the title, because we already see how he is capable of competing without being at his best level, neither physically nor, perhaps, mentally, and still adapting to his new Honda & rdquor ;.

The Frenchman, born in Nice and since his promotion to MotoGP, a great admirer of the Catalan champion (“he has always been my reference”), considers that “fights like the one Marc and I had in the last laps of Austin, a circuit where Márquez He is the king, I learned many more things than from any of the races I have won. Competing with Marc, fairing against fairing, is one of the pleasures of being a MotoGP rider.”

The confusion surrounding the performance of Bagnaia, one of the very few pilots, along with MM93, who already have a contract for the next two years, is tremendous and, for now, apart from a small clash of criteria when trying or not test parts during the weekends, the truth is that ‘Pecco’ has not quite found the key to his new motorcycle which, by the way, is finally equipped, at his express wish, with the engine of the ‘Desmosedici’ of the last year.

Something less disconcerting, it is true, is the role played by the French ‘Devil’, without a doubt a true champion, capable of conquering the scepter last year, without having, far from it, the best bike, which is still the Ducati. Quartararo, whose bike on one kilometer straights like the one in Austin (Texas, USA), last weekend, loses up to 10 km/h. with respect, not only to the impressive ‘Desmosedici’ but also to the Honda and, now, even with respect to the Suzuki, it defends itself belly up as best it can and remains in fifth place overall, 17 points behind ‘ The Beast’ Bastianini.

“If the bike is ready to be able to aspire to renew the title? & rdquor ;, asks Quartararo. “I have my opinion, but I give my 100% all the time, in every training session and in every race.” It is clear that the answer, without words, is that the current Yamaha M1 is not ready according to its main pilot, who is absolutely alone before the rest of his colleagues from other brands. “We will have to wait, for example, for tracks like Jerez, to take advantage of the conditions of our bike. It is evident that we lack power and it is evident that it will be difficult to find it in the remainder of the season.”

Quartararo, a rider who has tremendously praised Marc Márquez (“his absence hurts us all a lot, since he has been, at least for me, the reference in MotoGP”), assures that the fight he had with the eight-time champion de Cervera (Lleida) “was once again a lesson, in the sense that I learn more fighting with him, even for sixth place, as we did on Sunday in Austin, than from many grand prix that I have ended up winning”.

It is evident that Quartararo knows that, at the moment, he is in inferior conditions with respect, not only to the rest of the brands, but also to the rest of the favorites. And, in that sense, the ‘Devil’ hopes that when he has everything ready, if he manages to have it, “I will be able to fight for victories & rdquor ;.

One thing is evident and very clear: Yamaha will have to make an effort in the next Grand Prix to improve the M1, to give its captain, its champion, what it needs because we are in a year of renewals and, possibly, many brands aspire to get signed to Quartararo, who has shown that, with a competitive bike, he is a permanent contender for victory. The signature of the tuning forks is in danger, and great, of losing its best value, its champion.

The 2,000 inhabitants of the ‘paddock’ always say that the real World Cup begins in Europe, but the truth is that the ‘Beast’ Bastianini seems to be a solid leader, with two victories in the first four races and already adds, for example, 17 more points that the champion Quartararo, 38 more than the runner-up Bagnaia and 40 more than the eight-time world champion Marc Márquez, True, there are still 17 grand prizes left, that is, there are 425 points still up for grabs.