Disappointed, frustrated, and bitter. These are perhaps the adjectives that best describe Fabio Quartararo’s state of mind at the end his Friday at Assen. Topping the Yamaha riders in the Dutch Pre-Qualifying timesheets with the 15th-fastest time, the 2021 World Champion failed to secure one of the spots that were up for grabs, in order to advance to the Q2, so he'll have to start from the back of the grid again this weekend.
“I won’t comment on how the day went, but, as you can imagine, it was difficult. Why? Because of what we have at our disposal. I think the goal right now is to fight for points and try to make the most of what we have,” Quartararo replied, laconically. At the end of the session, he made no secret of his disappointment and said he’d rather talk to reporters about the French national team’s performance than about his Friday: “Of course, their performances are definitely better.”
Quartararo is facing many problems, especially in struggling to navigate corners on the M1.
“I haven’t seen any improvement. We won’t make progress in that area. We need to improve on all fronts because we have no grip, zero steering, and zero power. I’m trying to make the most of braking, especially on the straights, because that’s the only place where I can brake hard. But I can’t get the bike to go. Like I said, scoring some points on Sunday would be great,” El Diablo reiterated.
It’s also physically difficult to get the bike into the corner, given the weight of the M1.
“This bike is heavier than last year’s,” he said. “It was already heavier than the other bikes last season, but now it’s really very heavy. Physically, it’s as tough as last year, but it’s obviously harder when you have so much extra weight.”
The rider from Nice doesn’t seem very optimistic about the front wing tested by test rider Augusto Fernandez either. “If it’s the same one I tried, the difference is very small.”
Instead, speaking about his start, he said, “I always brake hard to check if the brakes are working well. That’s it, nothing else. But it’s obviously harder when you’ve been used to using the front wheel lift for five years. Getting to the braking point for turn one was tricky because the bike was lifting up, but it’s not that bad.”
In the end, Quarararo also shared his thoughts on the format the Moto3 will adopt starting in 2028 and on whether it’s the right bike for young riders to take their first steps in the World Championship.
“I have no idea, because I’m not very interested in this bike, but I imagine it could be faster,” he noted. “I think the gap between the categories will keep getting smaller, because right now the gap between the Moto2 and MotoGP is much smaller than in the past. I think it’s a good thing to narrow the gap, but I can’t say whether it’s better or worse.”