MotoGP, Quartararo: "I want to be the best in Yamaha"

From one week to the next, always on the same track, very little seems to have changed in the first positions of Saturday afternoon as Fabio Quartararo is always at the table of the post qualifying press conference, in first place, and Maverick Vinales in second. These positions were then confirmed in the race 6 days ago and a lot of people are wondering if it will be the same tomorrow. Without a crystal ball, we can only limit ourselves to analysing today's times and gathering the sensations of the riders starting from those of the poleman: Fabio Quartararo.

“I did not expect to make pole with that lap - said Fabio - Today I did not feel good in qualifying and I had strange sensations in FP4, when I was with used tyres at the rear. During the qualifying sessions, the front moved a lot and I didn't have good response from the rear. I knew that the front row was possible but I thought I had lost pole ”.

Do you think this fight with Maverick is a sort of anticipation to choose Yamaha's no. 1 rider for 2021?

“It's always nice to fight with someone who has your bike, if I said no, I'd be lying. I want to be the best rider on a Yamaha but I don't think about next year. Maverick and I are pushing each other to go faster and stronger and this is good for everyone. "

If you could steal one quality from Maverick what would it be?

“Hard to say at the moment, I compare my data a lot with his, we are similar on the fast lap. Maybe I would steal some MotoGP experience from him, he has been racing in this category for years while this is only my second season. "

What will be the strategy for tomorrow's race?

"We will see after the first lap, I will have to be smart and careful because there is always a strange grip on the track after the Moto2 race. I have a good pace but I will have to be good at staying out of trouble in the first lap and then trying to do my best ".

About Marc Marquez: the world champion will miss this race after last week's zero. Do you feel you are fighting for the title?

“It is never easy to think about the championship, tomorrow will be only the second race. We have an advantage over Marc but if we look at last year's results, we can see that the worst he can do is second place. I will try to do my best but this is not the time to think about the title".

Were you surprised by the decision to declare him fit for this race?

"The doctors decide, if they believed that after this operation, he could race then we must trust them, it is their job".

Vinales: "Quartararo and I are improving the Yamaha"

Another second place, hoping that tomorrow it will turn into P1. The second spot on the grid is perhaps not entirely satisfactory for Vinales this week as he had little luck in Q2 between errors and yellow flags.

“I touched the green in turn 7 during the good lap and I also found a yellow flag in another lap. Today I felt good with the bike, the tyres work better than last week and we will see tomorrow what will happen ".

How much will the choice of tyres count tomorrow?

“The tyres will be very important but at the moment I don't know what I will choose. At the rear I go very strong with the soft and, in the last part of the race, even the medium could work well. At the front I tried a lot with the hard one, I think it will be the most logical choice. "

What will your race strategy be?

“If it gets even hotter, we should be careful at the start of the race. I will try to get out of the first corner first and to impose my rhythm ”.

With Marc missing this race, do you feel you are one of the favourites for the world title?

"Marquez was brave to race today, every point of this championship is crucial and even if it is a shorter season it is still very early to think about the title."

What would you steal from Quartararo's riding style? Can following him in practice or in the race help you?

“He brakes really hard, he has a prefect style for the Yamaha especially for the management of the rear. In the last year I have been improving from these points of view and I think that the competition with Fabio is improving Yamaha. "