Fabio Quartararo has one hand on the MotoGP crown

Upon arriving in the United States, fabio quartararo had a 48-point lead overall over his closest opponent in the person of Francesco Bagnaia. Mathematically, the Niçois did not have the possibility of pocketing the title this weekend.

But if Marc Marquez won the victory hands down, Quartararo managed to finish on the second step of the podium ahead of Bagnaia, now bringing his lead in the championship to 52 units. “It’s the best second place of my career, that’s for sure,” said the Frenchman. Before the start, I started to feel a little more stress, but once the start, it disappears. I had a good race and I'm happy, because Pecco has been very strong these last two races. He took 50 points and it's good to finish ahead of him on this circuit. »

The sheriffs of COTA 🤠

🥇 @marcmarquez93
🥈 @FabioQ20
🥉 @PeccoBagnaia #AmericasGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/Hyiyzmaxbz

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 3, 2021

But in no case did Quartararo play the grocer against Marquez for the victory. “I tried to fight,” he smiled. There was a big group behind me. Martin tried to overtake me at the first corner... so my only solution was to attack. But I didn't have the same pace as Marc all weekend, especially with the worn tires. The goal was to finish on the podium and we achieved that. »

“If we can do it, it would be fantastic”

As for the first match point in just over two weeks, Quartararo added: “We don't need to be obsessed with that. We have a championship advantage and I don't need to take the title in Misano, because Pecco was very strong there. I'll do my best. If we can do that, that would be fantastic. If not, we'll have another chance. You have to stay calm…”

See you in a few weeks to perhaps witness the coronation of the very first French world champion in history in the premier category. To achieve this, he must not concede more than two points to Bagnaia and the latter must not win.