After getting off to a slow start with a bland 16th time, Fabio Quartararo straightened out his Motegi Friday by bouncing back when needed, that is, in pre-qualifying, when he reached an 8th time, which will keep him clear of battling in the Q2 tomorrow.
"The track conditions weren't bad, especially because, this morning, I didn't want to mount the rear medium, which was the correct compound and, like everyone else, I mounted the soft and hard. In the afternoon, it went equally well. So, everything was okay in that aspect," he said off the bat.
Happy with the final feedback, El Diablo nevertheless pointed out some flaws in his bike that could get him into trouble on distance. "I'm happy to have entered the second phase right away because, on Saturday, it's more complex. But free practice didn't completely satisfy me," he commented."As for the pace, it isn't bad, but for the first six laps. If I always go at the max, the others, for example, Bezzecchi, have some margin. As a result, when I get to speed, I'm already at the limit, and it's constantly like that. Overall, we're not in great shape, but it is what it is."
Yamaha brought a new exhaust for the occasion, which the French rider was only able to test for a few kilometers. "I had a problem on my M1, so I wasn't able to keep it. In fact, I did less than one lap with the updated part and then went back to the standard one," he explained.
Finally, he spoke about the new front tire compared with the medium. "In my opinion, it provides a little less grip on the edges. So, from this point of view, the medium is better. Instead, in stability and in the slipstream, it behaves more or less the same way."