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Third at the end of the last day of testing at the Sepang track before departing for Thailand where, after two more days of dress rehearsals, the 2025 MotoGP championship will get underway, Fabio Quartararo can breathe a moderate sigh of relief . Encouraged by the final response from the Malaysian track, the Frenchman nevertheless preferred to adopt a low profile and being very careful not to celebrate before having confirmation, he commented on this first commitment of the year with a smile, but highlighting the unknowns that could face Yamaha,
"Very happy," he said to the media, "My fastest lap in qualifying last year was a 1'57.5, so I think the gap is more than 0.8. I was saying that from 2019 to 2024 we improve 0.6 seconds so of course we can be happy. We need to stay calm, it's only the test, but I think it's quite good. Last year in the test Pecco made a 56.6 or 56.5 and this is more or less the lap time that they did this yeaar, so I think we can be happy."
You did a Sprint Race simulation which seems positive although slightly slower than Ducati...
"It wasn't really a simulation. I only did 6 laps with one set of tires and then for another 6 I rode with the new ones. It went well. You have to consider that a year ago we were 11th/12th, while today we look at the pace of Pecco and the two Marquez riders. The gap is big, but I'm happy with the time marked because it wasn't just a matter of one lap."
Can you imagine the same situation in the race?
“The worst last year was not the race, it was especially one lap last year that was the problem because always we started super-far back and it was super-difficult to overtake.Right now, before I made my first time attack, I knew I was going to make a 1:56, because with Maio we make the joke the first day we arrive here that we will make a 1:56, but every day we were getting closer and closer and in the end it was the reality today. On our side we also have a good engine, so we'll see in the first three GPs how we can do."
What has changed in the bike?
“It looks similar but it’s not the same. Basically, it’s many electronics that have changed, the way I ride – we have new things on the bike. Of course it’s difficult to see what’s new, but lap-time-wise we can see that we were much quicker than last year. We improved a lot our feeling going into the corners, on change of direction also, but our weak point is grip. Today the track was really grippy, you can see it’s black from rubber. I will not say our lap time is fake because last year it was the same and we were one second from P1 – now we are at 0.3 seconds. I’m looking forward to seeing when the track will be really low grip conditions; this is the worst conditions for us.”
Have you made any comparisons with other bikes like the Ducati in terms of top speed?
"Yes, and this is one of the points that you don't see but where we have improved. We are actually faster even though we still can't overtake in the straights, but I think there are reasons for that like the speed with which we come out of the corners. Let's say the advantage has come to us from the engine."
What has changed lately?
“I think that every year, especially from 2022–2024, we make one step, but Ducati and the others make two or three. I think this year we have reached to make much more steps. I think it’s a different riding style from 2019 or 2021, but I feel the bike is fast, so the riding style is slightly different from the past but I think it’s the first year that we managed to close the gap. In the past, we just improved but the others improved; or we improved but the others even more. Now I think that the gap is closer.”
What do you expect now?
"Low expectations. This is the team's motto. Even my chief technician created a T-shirt with my face and this phrase. I admit that this is the first year where I feel I had a good winter and five days of positive testing. The goal is to have two more positive days in Buriram. Personally I'm giving it my all and what will come will come. Whether it will be a top 7, a top 5 or a podium, I will still give everything. So, I am happy and optimistic, but with caution."
