On Saturday it seemed certain that El Diablo would take the victory in the Barcelona race, but from the very start things went wrong. Jack Miller passed him on the first stop and then Miguel Oliveira did the same. The Portuguese set a pace that no one expected and when Quartararo got his act together he was unable to chase him down.
The Yamaha rider was later overtaken by Johann Zarco as well and had to settle for fighting for third place with Miller. In that fight, the Frenchman nearly went down at Turn 1 and trying to save him cut the chicane.
Quartararo lost seven tenths in the action, but Race Direction sanctioned him with three seconds. Despite crossing the finish line third, he lost a place to Miller by the imposed time.
“I have lost seven tenths. It seems that now we have to do calculations and lose a second. In the end this is a regulation for everyone. It is already beginning to be a lot. It is not that I have won seven tenths, I have lost them. I almost fell. No I want to talk too much and get into trouble. No [I have gone to Race Direction]. I already made a mistake in the past by going directly. I have taken it more calmly”, Quartararo explained.
The young man from Nice starred in some surreal last laps with his overalls open. Casey Stoner posted a tweet saying that they had to black flag him because of the danger he posed to the pilot himself.
“I think I’ve already had my sanction. Losing the podium is a serious sanction, which I don’t agree with, I don’t accept it. That’s it. I’m not thinking about the black flag. They realized it later. It’s over the race, a safety issue. Putting another penalty doesn’t make sense. The race is over,” he said.
Quartararo explained what happened with the monkey.
“I found my suit open. I tried to put it on again. It’s not easy when it’s [the zipper] all the way down and you’re pushing hard to win. It’s been a hectic day, especially in the last few laps. At no time have I thought It is quite annoying to ride with an open suit, it is not easy especially at high speeds. Alpinestars is studying what happened, because at the end of the race it was possible to close it again. The last quarter of the race was not easy, “he commented .
Oliveira surprised everyone with a much higher pace, but the #20 didn’t ride as well as in practice.
“I have not felt very well. The rear grip , the situation we were in, I have not been able to get the rhythm of the weekend . Miguel has been very fast. I congratulate him. The position today was second”, settled Quartararo, who sees his advantage reduced ahead of the championship by 14 points over Zarco.
The photos of the MotoGP race at the 2021 Catalunya GP
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo from: motosport.com
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
