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At least from the outside, the M1 no longer appears to be the struggling M1 of last year or 2023, yet Fabio Quartararo, on the eve of the Texas GP did not appear to be particularly convinced that he can have his say in America. On the contrary, El Diablo admitted all his concerns and perplexities, including one that sees him unable to make a realistic judgment about the level of the bike.
"I hope it will be a better weekend for Yamaha since the last one was complicated. Irrespective of the result, however, I hope to find the good feelings again. In Thailand we struggled in terms of rear grip, while in Argentina I didn't have the pace. Here I'm aiming for consistency and having fun," he told the media. "Tomorrow there will be some new things to try, but nothing significant or that will help us in a major way. Maybe Fernandez will test something more."
Returning with his mind to the first two rounds of the season he then explained, "What happened in Buriram we know, while in Termas de Rio Hondo we simply lacked pace. Here I still expect to struggle, although on the one lap we are not bad. I don't think I can finish in the top 5, however, I am optimistic about being closer to the best."
The start of the World Championship has been below expectations especially in the light of the winter premise. "The Sepang tests gave false information, but I knew that because the track had a lot of rubber and the grip was perfect, kind of like what others everywhere have. When you believe strongly in something and the feedback doesn't come quickly it's discouraging, plus if I knew before from a judgment on the bike, now everything is an unknown."
To try to straighten out the situation there will be a lot of commitments on the track. "From Jerez to the summer break we will always be in action between private testing, I think at least 6 or 7 days, IRTA testing and the races. I hope at least there will be some concrete things to try - was his hope before a bitter remark - Where will we do well? Le Mans will be a good track for us because the grip is constant and doesn't drop, but it's one race in ten. At this point it's better to be a wild card."
Finally a few words about meeting motocross rider Maxime Renaux. "It was good because I had my bike, but I could try his and it was completely different. As far as motocross is concerned, I've never had the chance to get on an official bike and you can feel the difference right away. I even did a time attack on the last one, even though he set the record and I was 16 seconds behind. It was impressive," he commented.
