It was his home race, and in the early laps he had the crowd on the edge of their seats. Fabio Quartararo gave it his all, but in the end he had to settle for a hard-fought sixth-place finish.
Despite the result, the Yamaha rider is focusing above all on how the M1 felt, paying particular attention to the progress made compared to the previous weekend in Jerez.
He is well aware of this, and in fact, El Diablo avoids getting carried away when he arrives in the press room to meet with the media.
“Today we had to be very gentle on the brakes,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this positive, even though we know our bike’s potential is still low. Today I was able to push 100% and had a lot of fun, especially in the early laps when the group was tight and it was easier to try to pass.”
Are you a bit more optimistic about the future after this weekend?
“No, I wouldn’t say optimistic, because ultimately, if the bike had more performance, everyone would benefit. It’s more a matter of confidence, since for me the bike has improved slightly. We’ll see on other circuits, but I’m sure I can push hard. In the first four laps I managed to stay up front, and that’s a big difference. At Jerez, in the time attack, I was way off my best time from 2025, while this weekend I was only four-tenths off. I’d say we can be happy—in fact, I can feel the bike’s limits better now.”
How does it feel to have a weekend like this with a bike that isn’t yet at the same level as the others?
“I’m happy because I always keep pushing myself to the limit, regardless of my position. It’s important for my future to always ride like this. I want to improve as a rider, and every time I get on the bike, I don’t want to lose the motivation to give 100%. When we have a better package, if we keep pushing like this, the results will come too.”
What was the most important change made over the weekend? Is it just a matter of confidence, or is there something specific that helped you?
“We’re constantly looking for the best performance with the setup. Until we have a better package, we won’t change the bike much. Right now, I prefer not to mess with it too much and focus mainly on the electronics. When the team brings something new to test, we’ll try it and see if it allows us to take a step forward.”
Yesterday you mentioned improvements in acceleration, especially in certain sectors. Is that what helped you today?
“We worked a lot on the electronics. For me, it’s harder to maintain control with less electronic intervention, but today it was a positive aspect. Although, as we saw on the first lap, they passed me at Turn 1 as if I were standing still. So it remains complicated. I did a good job, but we still need to improve several aspects, especially from the third to the sixth lap; in fact, we need more grip and much more.”
Today you put on a great show for your fans.
“I definitely gave it my all. The level of risk I took today to maintain this position was extremely high. But I think we had a good race. As I always say, the position is just a number. At Jerez we finished 29 seconds behind Alex Marquez, whereas today we were 7 seconds behind Martin. That’s what I look at most: the gap, how close we are to the best. And in that respect, the weekend was positive.”
Are you a little disappointed that it didn’t rain?
“Absolutely not. It went perfectly just the way it did.”