Fabio Quartararo will start the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi from the third row of the grid. The Yamaha rider qualified ninth on the grid in the rain. His World Championship competitor Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) is one row in front of him, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) one behind.
So is Quartararo happy with qualifying? “No, I’m not satisfied because I expected it to be much better,” says the MotoGP World Champion. “I don’t understand how I could set my time on the first lap and then be slower. There was no improvement.”
Quartararo, like most drivers, did not pit and drove the 15 minutes with one set of tires. Johann Zarco (Pramac-Ducati) changed. In his opinion, that was crucial to racing into the front row.
Quartararo set his personal best on his first flying lap. Then he could no longer approach this brand. Drivers usually get faster in the rain because they find out how much water there is and get to know the grip conditions.
“We’re a bit lost in the wet on this track,” notes Quartararo. “The feeling is good. But how you have to do the lap time… it was missing a second. That’s a lot, but compared to before it’s not that bad. But it’s difficult to understand.”
“That will be my main problem in the race”
He is also preparing for a difficult race against his World Championship rivals: “The only problem is that they have more opportunities to overtake. That’s what worries me the most. Where can I overtake?”
“All braking points are after a straight. That will be my main problem in the race.” Are there other places where he could exploit the qualities of the Yamaha? “Currently only in turn 7. That’s actually not an overtaking point.”
“We’re trying to do our best. The last race was very frustrating. I want to do well and have a great race.” According to the weather forecast, Sunday will be dry. So the 20-minute warm-up will be very important.
“Both tires are working well – soft and medium. We have to see which tire we start the warm-up with. It won’t be an easy task. It will be important for everyone because we didn’t have a lot of track time. Tire choice will become very important. But I feel ready and I think we can do something.”