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MotoGP, Marquez: "Quartararo? If he tries to break away, I won't chase him."

"This isn't a race to be won at all costs, but I'm better off than at Mugello. At the moment, the Yamahas are the only bikes capable of breaking away."

MotoGP: Marquez: "Quartararo? If he tries to break away, I won't chase him."

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Fabio Quartararo saw it fit to ruin Marc Marquez's day in the qualifying session once more. He had succeeded a month and a half ago in Jerez, then again in Barcelona, where he managed to precede  n93 by only 15 thousandths of a second. So, the seven-time world champion can only console himself with second place in the qualifying session.

"We worked differently over the weekend, trying to be constant," Marc began. "The goal was to fight for a pole, while we'll try to aim for the top positions in the race. I think the medium tire is the best choice for Sunday. At the moment, I see about 3-4 riders battling it out for the top, and I know I'm better than in Mugello."

During the qualifying session, Marc then ended up behind Rossi's Yamaha.

"I followed more in the practice session than in qualification," he specified. "Everyone here was expecting a Honda-Ducati challenge, while the Yamahas have proven to be competitive, given that they have good speed in cornering. They can in fact rely on a good pair to be taken advantage of in all the turns. It's true that there's a long straight here, but then there are several turns where the M1s are competitive. But I only look at myself and, I must say, that in the FP4, I managed to be fast, finding the right direction. My goal is to be in the front row in all the races and, so far, I've succeeded."

Fabio Quartararo will be starting off in pole.

"Like I said in Jerez, he'll be one of the opponents this year and also in the future. He has never won the World Championship due to several circumstances he had to face, but his is the fastest Yamaha in qualifying, and it's precisely thanks to speed that you'll win sooner or later."

The attention then shifts to the episode with Lorenzo in the FP3.

"It's true that it was a practice session. The fact is that I got angry with Jorge because at that moment I risked remaining out of the Q2. If you go see the replay, I managed to get in with the worst performance of the year. Among other things, similar situations occurred in the past, where I was penalized, while it went differently with Mir in Mugello. I understand that Jorge apologized but, at that moment, your heart is bursting out of your chest."

The qualifying sessions have ended, now everyone is concentrated on the race.

A lot will depend on who will lead the race from the first laps. If a rider is fast, then I have to push, otherwise, reduce the pace. Personally, I expect a very glowing finish. I think the only bikes that can breakaway are the Yamahas. In fact, I consider them competitive, we saw it in Qatar, but also in the qualifications in Mugello and Jerez. And there are actually three here in the first two rows. Quartararo revved up the batteries of the Yamaha riders."

Finally, there are those who expect Quartararo to break away.

"I don't care to win 100%. If Quartararo were to break away, my goal will be to think about the World Championship, and he's not battling for that. At the moment, I don't see a bike that is particularly favored for tomorrow and, like I said, I'll face the race thinking about the World Championship."

Audio recorded by Paolo Scalera

Translated by Leila Myftija
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