Phillip Island.- Almost two weeks after leaving Thailand without saying goodbye, neither to his team nor to the media that awaited his post-race statements, Fabio Quartararo reappeared this Thursday in Australia with the best of his smiles, and with his friendliness and kindness usual when talking to journalists and offering all kinds of explanations.
The Frenchman was the protagonist of the previous official press conference before the grand prix, and was patient, afterwards, to attend to all those who wanted to ask him more directly.
How could it be otherwise, what happened in Thailand was on the table. A human error when calculating the pressure of the front tire for the race, triggered the “nightmare” that, in the words of the runner himself, he lived in that race, who finished 17th, out of the points, losing practically all the advantage to in front of the general classification, which is now two points behind Pecco Bagnaia.
Fabio did not attend the media that Sunday and, according to Yamaha, he did not speak to the team either, so he had to redirect a very delicate moment.
“Internally, after the grand prix I spoke with my crew chief ( Diego Gubellini ) and he explained the matter to me. Then I went to see my team, we had a meeting. In the end we were in contact. It was a difficult moment because it was an important race and we made that mistake, but I have arrived (here) with the team in the same way as when I arrived in Aragón or Misano, the same. Happy to be here”, he explained.
Specifically, the air pressure in the front tire was well above the working range for the rubber on the M1.
“The problem was the initial pressure of the tyre, when it’s a little (above) our bike is very sensitive, but at the level where it was above it can no longer be ridden.”
Gubellini, as Fabio’s chief mechanic, admitted the error as his own, even though each driver has a tire manager and has a technician assigned by Michelin .
So you know even worse that it was a ‘human error’.
“It is important to think that we are a team, I don’t win, we all win, I am not only talking about mechanics, I am also talking about the people who work in communication or in hospitality. I consider this a team, so if someone has made a mistake , nothing happens. Well, it’s not that nothing happens, you’re frustrated, but we must try not to make the same mistake again. I’ve turned the page from the beginning.”
Although Fabio tries to maintain a positive stance, the truth is that in the last race he dropped a lot of points that could make things very difficult for him in defending the title. Hence, they asked him how he had managed the following days.
“Mostly spending quality time with friends, I was in Sydney with Tom ( Thomas Maubant , his assistant and friend) and his girlfriend, who is also a friend, talking about everything except motorcycles, and having a good time. It has been great “, Explain.
From that Sunday it has transpired that Fabio arrived at the box after the race and went directly to the office that he had installed in the circuit, where he took everything, a bit in the Jorge Lorenzo style of his best times.
“Who…? (laughs) well, it can happen. I was very frustrated, it’s the first time it’s happened to me and, above all, I wanted to apologize to the journalists who were there and I couldn’t attend to them, it’s not that I didn’t want to see them , but I was in a difficult moment and this can happen,” he said, surprised to reveal that episode.
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: 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
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
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Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
