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Seventh at the finish line of the first Sprint Race of the season Fabio Quartararo described himself as satisfied overall despite the fact that even this Saturday there was no shortage of the usual problems that prevent the Yamaha riders from expressing themselves as they would like.
"In terms of position this is what I expected, as our pace was between seventh and ninth, on the contrary, on the sensation front, I didn't think they were so bad. The front tire pressure was very high and did not allow me to push. From the middle of the race I suffered a lot, I couldn't even ride. I hope tomorrow to be able to be closer to the others. Since the beginning of the weekend I have been struggling with the tires, so I cannot attack or find grip. This is an issue that has been dragging on since testing. We can't brake the bike with the rear and in acceleration it's even worse," was his view.
Asked to judge Miller's excellent performance in qualifying, El Diablo then joked, "He was better than me at disconnecting the brain. He was behind Bagnaia and took advantage of his slipstream a little bit, but I think in Turn 4 he really turned his brain off. At the end of the day you get your time from that section and he was very fast. I am glad to have him on the team because he is able to push the bike over the limit. I personally prefer to set the time alone, but sometimes being in his slipstream is useful. I've never felt comfortable with the tires here and I'm looking forward to going back to the old carcass. Jack's style? He brakes as hard as I do. There is no big difference."
Going back in his mind to last October when MotoGP came to the Buriram circuit, the Frenchman said, "In the Sprint I struggled less in terms of pace, but the pace of those in front was also better, so much so that in the last laps they had held the 1'29"6, while today they were going in 1.29"9."
Only 17th, his boxmate Alex Rins appeared disappointed, but not discouraged. "It was not the result I was hoping for and what we had worked for," he found himself admitting, "In qualifying I couldn't do the lap. As for the race I got off to a good start, except for a bit of chaos on the first lap including the risk of getting knocked off. What bothered me the most was that I couldn't stay with Oliveira initially, maybe because of the full tank. In the last four/five laps I was coming back and lapping in 1'31"4 when Miguel who has the same bike as me was going in 1.32"0 or 1'31"9."
"We have to understand the reason why it is not possible to keep a good pace with a new tire. I can't brake and slow the bike down, as a result the traction decreases and you always go wide. Compared to last year, the rear is more attached to the ground, however, the braking is still not optimal," he continued, "I am struggling a lot here, as a result I will try to change something for tomorrow. Miller's fourth fastest time in qualifying? He was fast from Turns 1 to 3 thanks to the slipstream, but he stood out especially at Turns 4 and 7. The rest we faced the same way. I don't know if it's because he was helped by whoever was in front, but he proved to be more competitive."
An incident that occurred during the closing stages of Q1 also did not help him. "The team made a mistake. It did not verify with IRTA the transponder, so if I had set the time to enter Q2, they would have cancelled it for me."
Finally, a comment on the critical issues encountered by Ducati and Bagnaia especially, with a full tank. "It's a difficulty that also affects the M1 as well over the long distance. It must be a matter of set-up," he concluded.
