Phillip Island.- The leader of the world championship left Thailand without explanation for the weak performance that led him to finish 17th at the finish line, without scoring and losing practically all the advantage he had at the head of the general classification, which is now has reduced to only two points.
Although the Frenchman did not give any explanations, his brand mate Cal Crutchlow did, who spoke of a problem in the tire pressures that complicated the riding of the Yamahas, something that Fabio Quartararo ended up confirming.
“I expected a much better race in Thailand, really. We made a mistake from the beginning, starting with very high (tyre) pressure. The end of the race was hard for me, I decided not to talk to the media, I apologize for It was especially hard, I didn’t have the sensations, it was very hard”, reiterated the Frenchman.
In this new situation, heavily pressured by Pecco Bagnaia, Fabio arrives at a circuit where he has not raced since 2019 and where, in his last race, he was shot down by Danilo Petrucci on the first lap.
“Phillip Island is one of my favorite circuits, it’s very fast, in 2019 I sprained my ankle in FP1 and I had to skip a lot of practice, and in the second corner of the race I went to the grass, it was not a good experience “, remember.
Just two points clear now, Quartararo will have to manage a tight end to the season with three races to go.
“We have to think about the World Championship, but I want to take it from race to race, in the end it’s as if the championship started, not only do I see Pecco as a rival, Aleix Espargaró, Jack Miller and Enea Bastianini are also close. We are not so far apart, the top 3 a little closer, but you have to think race by race”, explains his strategy.
Fabio’s biggest, if not the only, advantage over his rivals is having been the only one to have won a championship so far, which gives him experience in that regard.
“Yes, especially 2020 was a year in which I was going fast, we had problems with the Yamaha, but I always managed to focus on my first rival, which was Joan Mir, and last year I won because I realized that I had to be strong in all the circumstances. Last year’s title and the experience has allowed me to stay calm these two years in difficult circumstances.”
The conclusion after the race in Thailand is that Fabio had difficulty with the rain, which may be present in Australia as well.
“This year we have gone well in all wet conditions, Indonesia was special, I felt good there, in Portimao too, in Japan it was not going so well, in Thailand we made a mistake. I am not worried, we know what happened and we are prepared for it”.
Although the Yamaha has always done well on this circuit, the Frenchman doesn’t think that will help him.
“Actually it has been quite fun this year, at the beginning of the year we said when we arrived at Mugello or Barcelona that it was going to be difficult and we took a lot of points, when we say that a circuit is going to go well for us, something strange happens to us, I don’t think whether there are good or bad circuits, they are all the same for everyone”.
For Fabio, the Australian is one of his favorite circuits.
“The setting is unique, you can see the ocean and there are hyper-fast corners, 3, 7, 8, 9, the last one, it’s a very fast circuit, that’s why all the drivers love it.”
One of the characteristics of the layout is that it does not offer an advantage to the rear height device, which makes things more equal.
“It’s a circuit where the rear device is not used as much, I think we are not going to use it here, there are no wheelie problems. It does not make a difference on this circuit”, confirms Quartararo.
