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MotoGP, Quartararo: "Anyone who says he has no pressure is lying, or not racing for real"

"I crashed because I wanted to fight with Morbidelli and Rossi and I rode as if it were the last lap. Vinales defended himself aggressively, maybe that's his riding style."

MotoGP: Quartararo: "Anyone who says he has no pressure is lying, or not racing for real"

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This was supposed to be the GP in which Fabio Quartararo could pull out a lead in the championship given the difficulties of Andrea Dovizioso at Misano, but instead it was the race where the Ducati rider overtook the Frenchman. Dovizioso is now leading the world championship with a 6-point advantage over Quartararo who arrived in Romagna 3 points ahead and who today, with a crash, threw away a great opportunity.

"Today's mistake was mine alone - Quartararo said at the end of the race - My start was so-so and I found myself stuck behind Vinales; I was faster than him by a second but I couldn't pass him because he was very aggressive in defending. It seems that we should be racing like this from now on and it was strange because we weren't first and second, maybe that's his riding style but I don't know because I don't usually race with him. "

Then when you passed Maverick what happened?

"I wanted to go and catch Miller and then fight with Valentino and Morbidelli and I pushed like it was the last lap even though there were still 19 left. I made a mistake on my own and crashed because the tyre temperature was too high since I had been a lot behind Vinales. Certainly, this mistake will help me in the second half of the season, and I know it because all the mistakes I made last year are helping me now ”.

You said you crashed because you wanted to go and catch the leaders, but could you have not just settled for the result today? Dovizioso was several positions behind you in the race and is now first in the world championship. Did you feel the pressure of those who must win at all costs?

“A lot of people think that I have pressure because I am in the top positions of the championship but in reality it doesn’t really bother me much. The goal is always to be fast; I want to win the championship but it's not pressure. I can't say that I have no pressure, if you are not nervous or stressed it means that you are not racing for real, or that you are lying. Today Dovizioso was some way behind but I still wanted to go up front and fight because I had the pace to win. This weekend I think I'm back fighting for the win but it's a strange season. I can improve, be faster but I can't buy experience ".

You talk about experience, what are you lacking to be at 100%?

“I have to live this season, make mistakes and learn. I'm sure Marc and Valentino continue to learn too, I'm only in my second season in MotoGP and I'm 21 years old. Now I know why I crashed today, it was a good lesson, I'll try not to make the same mistake again ”.

You were also involved in a second crash today after returning to the pits. What happened there?

"I felt something strange in the engine which lost a bit of power, and I preferred to enter the pits to see what it was, luckily it was nothing serious. On my return I crashed without any real explanation, the tyres were perhaps cold but I wasn't pushing hard”.

What do you expect from next weekend? Where can the M1 improve?

“It will be difficult to wait for Friday's practice but I'm happy we can race here again. The performance of our Yamaha in acceleration is not good but we must not focus only on the negative things, after the race we analysed everything with the team and compared where we gain and lose compared to the other bikes. We have to stay focused on our work to do our best on Sunday ”.

 

 

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