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The same result, one year on. Fabio Quartararo has started his second season in the premier class in the best possible way, taking his seventh pole position in the category (and the Frenchman with the highest number of poles) in just 20 Grand Prix races, confirming himself to be a true child prodigy in the current crop MotoGP riders. A pole clinched with authority, after solving yesterday’s problems, which allowed Fabio to quickly reach the level of the top guys.
“I am pleased to be the Frenchman with the most pole positions in MotoGP - he says - but the most important fact is the zero victories. From yesterday to today I have improved a lot, especially with the changes made in FP2: I made my first time attack this morning and it went well, while in the afternoon I had to deal with more grip than expected, but the result was excellent. I made a small mistake at turn 6 during the lap, and at turn 11 the yellow flags caused me to slow down a bit, so I could have been maybe a few hundredths faster. "
Fabio has undoubtedly grown mentally since last year, and he demonstrated this by reflecting on the different approach he now applies to the various sessions.
"Last year I was often obsessed with finishing at the top in each session, but then I was not able to do it in the race or at the most important time: I understood that I have to work on the pace, which I have done these days, although I still don't think I am at the level of Marquez and Vinales".
The thought therefore obviously turns to tomorrow's race, in view of which the young French rider keeps his feet firmly on the ground…
“I don't have a strategy yet, but a small change made towards the end of FP4 should help me. I don't think I will be able to break away from the rest, Marc has a better pace than mine. The tyres should not be a problem, at least from what emerged in FP4, when I did 25 laps in a row without suffering particularly from deterioration. I'm not worried about overheating the front, at least not on the track with not particularly long straights like this one. "
The problem that concerns Fabio the most is his bike, which he is still discovering day after day…
“Top speed remains the weak point, but we have other strong points. I am not sure that the 2020 prototype is more difficult to ride than the 2019 one, I simply have yet to find the confidence that I had reached race after race with the other bike. The potential is not lacking, but only by doing lots of kilometres can I understand everything you need for this bike ".
Vinales: "To win the world championship I have to beat Marquez, the favourite"
Starting alongside Quartararo will be Maverick Vinales, who after not a particularly good morning showed his muscles in qualifying. "I didn't expect such a fast lap - he explained - but both the track and the tyres reacted well".
It will also be a very important race for the Spanish Yamaha rider, in search of the right consistency to be able to fight for the title.
“Tomorrow I will try and push right away, but I will have to see how to manage the tyres. It will be a tough and hot race: certainly starting well and setting your own pace will be important, and I must take advantage of the excellent grip of the tyres in the final laps ".
For Vinales, the target can only be victory, but Maverick has other things on his mind...
“To win the championship you have to beat Marc, who is the favourite, and which is not easy. For my part, I think I have to improve a bit more, but tomorrow I will have a chance to win. I don’t think I will have any problems in fighting with the other Yamahas and the Honda, with the Ducati it is more difficult to pass, because I can’t take advantage of speed when cornering to get out close to them, and then it becomes difficult to overtake when braking ".
