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MotoGP, Quartararo delighted to be on the podium after a stressful GP and an operation

“To be on the podium at Le Mans is amazing after the surgery. This third place is like a win for me. At the flag to flag I was about to go to Bastianini's garage. I didn’t know that Miller had made two long lap penalties "

MotoGP: Quartararo delighted to be on the podium after a stressful GP and an operation

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It would be not be out of place to say that the French GP at Le Mans was a crazy race, conditioned by rain, sun, crashes, accidents, flag to flag... and so on. The fact is that on his home track, Fabio Quartararo gritted his teeth, taking home a precious third place.

An encouraging result for the Yamaha rider, which coincided with the Frenchman’s first podium in the wet in the top class.

“I never expected to finish in that position - he began - For me this result is like a win, as today we found some really complicated conditions. Last year I ended up fighting for the top 15, while now we are here on the podium. It's an important result and I think it's nice to have two French riders in the top three today. "

Quartararo then told us about his French GP…

"We got off to a good start in dry conditions, and then the situation became very complicated. At the start I used the holeshot device, but at the first corner I went wide, so I had to chase. In the race I then found myself fighting with Miller and it was a great battle, even though at a certain point I lost the front ".

One of the key points of this GP was the flag to flag…

“Everything happened. At first I was going to Bastianini's garage (smiles), then I made a mistake stopping the bike. Then I went out and had Marquez in front of me. Being behind Marc allowed me to understand several things and have a benchmark, but unfortunately he crashed. So later I found myself behind Miller, but I didn't know that he did two long lap penalties (smiles). In the end, that's okay, as I've never scored a podium in the wet before in these conditions. "

This French GP allowed Fabio to pick up a lot of new information...

“When I came into the pit lane for the flag to flag, it wasas if it was the first time I was riding a motorcycle - he joked - In fact, I was really concentrated and tried to keep a straight line. In these cases, then, with the water, you have to be really gentle and smooth when riding. However, I must say that this sort of race is really stressful, because there are so many aspects to deal with. I think about the choice of tyre: for me the double soft was the right combination, despite the fact that in the first part the bike slid around a lot and it was difficult to ride. In the end, however, that's okay, even if this sort of race may be enough once. Or rather, taking part in GPs like this might be exciting, but a lot depends on the confidence you have with the bike, as well as the final result ”.

There was also time for a comment about Ducati.

“The Ducatis are very strong, they are scary. At Mugello they start as favourites, in fact it will be tough for me in two weeks, despite it being one of my favourite tracks. Among other things, in the final part of the race, Bagnaia was coming so fast, but luckily I managed to finish in third position ".

He then concluded by talking about the arm operation he underwent ten days ago…

“In the race maybe it’s even better that we had this condition that we didn’t make 27 laps at the limit. So, honestly after the surgery and everything to be on the podium here at Le Mans is amazing.”

 

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