During Saturday qualifying for the French Grand Prix, Fabio Quartararo was involved in the battle for pole until just seconds from the end, but unfortunately his Yamaha had to settle for fourth place on the grid.
After finishing the session, the Frenchman assured that he was “at the limit”, so he was satisfied despite not being in the front row, given how strong Ducati has been in the qualifying sessions.
“I was disappointed, but two minutes later I was happy,” he told the press, surprised by the good work of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer.
“Ducati is capable of doing something really crazy. And its factory riders, I wouldn’t say just Ducati,” added Quartararo, directing his praise towards Pecco Bagnaia and Jack Miller.
“So I’m quite happy because I think [doing] 1:30.6 with our bike means feeling on the limit, I don’t have anything else, and compared to the other Yamahas, the difference is quite big”, explained the home rider after his performance.
“So, it’s also a reference to me that we’re doing a good job.”
In the previous round, held in Jerez, Quartararo was forced to relax at one point in his pursuit of Bagnaia to prevent his hard front tire from overheating.
Now the Yamaha rider is confident he won’t have the same problems this Sunday at Le Mans if he can’t get past Bagnaia, Miller and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaró early.
“In Jerez I was only on the hard and I was already at the limit,” he said when asked if he was worried about repeating his race at Jerez. “Here we have the soft and the front tire doesn’t overheat or run at high pressure.”
“So, I’m not worried. Of course, I don’t have many overtaking opportunities, because the Ducati in the acceleration zone is always playing [with us].”
However, the current MotoGP world champion maintains the attitude of the great riders, knowing that anything can happen in a race and that it doesn’t end until the checkered flag falls.
“27 laps is a long time and you always have the opportunity to attack,” said the French driver.
