Fabio Quartararo already has the MotoGP title within reach. After finishing second in the race in Austin, where Marc Márquez won, he leads Pecco Bagnaia by 52 points , who finished third and practically said goodbye to his options with 75 left at stake.
El Diablo will have the first chance of his life to become MotoGP world champion at the next race, in three weeks’ time at Misano . There, he will do so if he wins the race or if he does not give up more than two points with the Italian.
At 22 years old, Quartararo’s pulse is not trembling when he is about to fulfill the dream of his life and he affirms that he will go to Misano as if nothing was at stake.
“We are not going to put any pressure on ourselves. For me, there is no match ball in Misano. If we can do it and win there, the better. Pecco won the last one there and we hope to get a good result”, commented the #20 after the race in Austin.
The boy from Nice secured a valuable second place, although he couldn’t really put up a fight with Márquez at any time.
“In the end, Marc knows that he is going very fast here. In the first laps, he was saving a lot of rubber. He gave the jump when Jorge [Martín] approached me. I wanted him to be faster and he was, but I couldn’t follow him. I tried everything to stay with Marc, I gave everything and I think I did a good job. I’m very happy because in the first 10 laps he pushed to the limit. It’s the best podium of my life. This second place is even better than a victory.” pointed.
Quartararo is about to return the MotoGP title to Yamaha , six years after the last one, achieved by Jorge Lorenzo , and in the first season in the official team after taking over from Valentino Rossi .
“It is a special moment for me. At the beginning of the year, when I came to the team, I had a lot of pressure from the media to replace Vale. Being able to achieve these results is truly amazing. In the future we will see what happens. This year we have done a good job, but we have to take a very important step. We are in good shape at the moment, but we really lack engine power.”
(Click on this link or on the image to see the photos of the 2021 MotoGP Americas GP)
