Fabio Quartararo certainly needed to turn over a new leaf after the disastrous weekend in Thailand. At Phillip Island he seems to have succeeded, or at least he is on the right track. The 4th place this Friday puts him back in those positions that he is used to and above all Yamaha’s French rider feels he can improve even more.
“We haven't been here for three years, many manufacturers have made progress in this time and I didn't really know what to expect. However, in the end, I know that our potential is good” Fabio summed up the situation.
This time he has some cards to play.
“I’m riding well and feeling also like I have a margin in a few corners that can make me one tenth here, one tenth there, so at the end of a race it can make a big change - he continued - Today was one of the first days that we really felt that we have to make a few changes because in general as soon as we start the weekend we finish the weekend with the same bike. Today, at this kind of track which is quite different to every track, we’ve made a few changes and have a few changes for tomorrow.”
But the basis is there and he can work on that.
"It went quite well - Fabio reiterated - This morning there were complicated conditions, but I managed to keep a good pace and in the afternoon it went better. I made quite a mistake on my fast lap so I’m pretty happy to still be in the top five, and we have other things to try tomorrow to improve my feelings. I feel we still have some margin on the pace and it seems that the hard rear tyre is fine, we'll see ”.
Also because today the track was not in the best conditions for experimenting.
"The strange thing was that the curb outside the last corner was still wet, the bike was sliding. I think everyone will try the hard tyre tomorrow, because the soft is really soft, but I think our pace is quite OK. I’ve got a few places I think I can overtake on this track so I think it should be quite a good track.”