The Frenchman did not achieve pole position, a luck in which he had always been infallible, since June in Barcelona. However, he has always been in the top three in the standings all season, securing a front row of the grid from which he can now control his closest rival for the championship, Pecco Bagnaia, who will start his Ducati from pole .
“I have given my maximum, it has been very difficult, I have not felt well throughout the weekend due to the potholes on the track, our bike suffers a lot and I have gone to Q2 all or nothing” he explained the Frenchman at the end of the classification.
Once a good starting position is achieved, the pace is what will make the difference in a race that is very tough due to the conditions.
“In terms of pace we’re not bad, but after one lap getting to the front row is very important. We will have Pecco’s reference in the first corner to try to brake a little later”, added Fabio Quartararo.
The Yamaha rider insisted that his bike, in his opinion, is the most affected by the potholes on the American track.
“I gave it my all, because looking at other bikes you can see that they move much less than ours. The first row was the objective”, he pointed out.
In these conditions, the World Championship leader believes that his weak point will be staying close to the Ducati when accelerating.
“In the back straight we lose a lot, because it is almost a quarter of the circuit and we can neither cut it nor increase horsepower”, he valued.
However, in his battle with Bagnaia, the Frenchman believes that he will also have his cards to play.
“Both Pecco and I are missing something on this track. In the first sector, in the race I will go a little more calmly. In the third sector, on the other hand, I think we are going very fast”, he predicted.
Although Jack Miller had been very strong after one lap, in the end Pecco burst in with his third consecutive pole position to continue disputing the title with Yamaha.
“I didn’t expect Pecco’s pole or my front row. But the fact that we are playing for the title makes us overcome ourselves”, settled the boy from the Côte d’Azur.
(Click on this link or on the image to see the photos of Fabio Quartararo at the 2021 MotoGP GP of the Americas)
