Fabio Quartararo admits thoughts for the MotoGP title came to his mind when he was passed on the last lap of the French Grand Prix by Joan Mir; ‘I said’ no way ‘I won’t end up trying something’
MotoGP title contenders Fabio Quartararo, Joan Mir and Maverick Vinales battling tooth and nail in the last lap of the French Grand Prix came as no surprise
But the prize to be won was not a race victory, nor even a place on the podium
Instead, the trio were battling for what could prove to be valuable points for ninth place, which ultimately played in Quartararo’s favor by 02s over Vinales, with Mir just 0085s further down to the end. of a wet and wild Le Mans race
« This fight for ninth position was like a fight for victory! » smiles Quartararo « It was fun and everyone gave 100%
« Some people said nobody wants to win this championship, but we have shown that everyone wants to win it! »
Quartararo started the race on pole, but it soon became clear that the Yamahas were nowhere near as competitive in the wet as they had been in the dry
Struggling to heat the rear tire, Quartararo dropped to eleventh place before stopping his decline and, aided by mistakes from some of those up front, was leading a fight to four with Stefan Bradl, Mir and Vinales as the last round has started
Bradl was able to escape, but when Mir, Quartararo’s closest title rival, passed, the Petronas pilot had to respond
« I think this is the first time in a race that I have thought of the championship », said Quartararo « When Joan passed me I said ‘no way’ I will not end without trying something
« I braked so hard in turn 9 and passed it, pushed it a bit wide but I was also wide because I was over the limit It was enough fun, I would prefer to finish in front but it was a very good pass «
Vinales followed Quartararo and the Frenchman was able to gain two points over Mir, increasing his title advantage to 10 points with five races to go
More good news was for the world championship leader to watch when he watched TV screens during the slowdown lap
« Honestly when I crossed the finish line I was happy to finish ahead of Joan and Maverick, but then I looked at the screen and saw that a red guy had won J I said « Dovi won today so he’s getting very close »
« But then I looked again and it was Petrucci and I said ‘oh that’s good!’ Then I looked at second place, it was Alex, third place was Pol
« Alex was extremely fast today and he deserved the podium very much. I’m really happy for him, for Petrucci and for Pol because they finished ahead of Dovi! I think that’s great news for us!
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« For our first race in the wet it could have been worse It’s a really strange year and I’m happy to still lead the championship »
Mir, ten points behind Quartararo but eight ahead of Dovizioso, delivered a similar verdict « could be worse »
“I think we [Quartararo and I] had a bad race,” said the Suzuki rider. “We weren’t both in the position people expected of us. It was OK, because in dry conditions, [Quartararo] had something more than everyone else, so he had a chance to win today
« I wasn’t one of the quickest on dry ground We would probably fight for the top five But in the end the top five for me and Quartararo would be a bigger point difference So that’s how it goes
« It is okay to have a bad race, but what we cannot do is repeat this performance in Aragon. We have to get our feelings back and be back on the podium »
While more than happy with their dry pace, Quartararo also fears they will need to be more competitive in future wet events.
« I’m not worried about the cold because we did pretty well It’s wet, » Quartararo said
« Our main problem in this kind of conditions is that we have a lot of trouble warming the tires at the rear on the curb and out so that’s why the start of the race was so terrible for us
« We risked a lot by making a big change on the bike because in [the wet] FP1 I felt really bad It was actually a better feeling, I still have a lot of trouble warming up the tires , but I was a little worried before the race because I never tried the setting I would be racing in!
« My first race in the wet, first time with the setup, in pole position, so I was a little nervous But in the end, it was not so bad
« I think this is a track that favors the more powerful bikes in the wet because you can’t really do quick turns in the wet But we also saw that Alex Rins was really fast [on a inline 4], unfortunately it crashed, but it was there and fighting for victory «
Vinales complete a title top four covered by 19 points, with fifth place Takaaki Nakagami (Honda) 34 points behind
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MotoGP, French Motorcycle Grand Prix, Fabio Quartararo, Danilo Petrucci, Ducati, Jack Miller, Andrea Dovizioso, SIC Racing Team
News from the world – AU – Fabio Quartararo: When Joan passed me I said ‘no way’
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
