Fabio Quartararo predicted that the Barcelona circuit would be a tricky track for Yamaha, given the long straight and the bike’s lack of power. In addition, the track also has notoriously low grip, conditions where Yamaha often struggles.
Quartararo, eighth in free practice, says he feels he is driving well, but right now he is slow. “We know that the Aprilias with little grip are super fast. But we have to fight, even in race pace I was six or seven tenths slower than Aleix [Espargaró]”.
“On this track you can feel whether you’re going slow or not, and I feel slow, although I couldn’t go faster.”
Asked if he was concerned about high tire consumption, Quartararo added: “I’m not worried about tire consumption, I’m more worried about going super slow and I think a lot of drivers will feel the same.”
“It’s hard to really see your potential when there are such bad track conditions.”
Quartararo, who signed a new two-year deal with Yamaha this Thursday, believes Friday’s leader Aleix Espargaró is the strongest rider at the moment. At the moment, the one from Granollers appears as the Frenchman’s closest rival.
“If the race is now I would focus on damage limitation. So hopefully we can get a lot of grip over the weekend and we know it’s not going to rain so hopefully Sunday will come where we can pick up the pace a lot. , because right now I think only Aleix can really have a really fast pace.”
“It is only five tenths faster, it is also being affected, but it is still five tenths faster. For us that makes the difference,” concluded the French driver, who faces one of the circuits in which he has a very good record. .
