Deprived of a podium, Quartararo still had "fun" at Le Mans

The Frenchman delivered a strong sprint race at Le Mans, but his Yamaha's lack of pace prevented him from reaching the podium. Quartararo knew before the start that a top three finish would be difficult to achieve.

Published 10/05/2025 à 16:40

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Deprived of a podium, Fabio Quartararo still had fun at Le Mans

@Yamaha

He was the first to deprive Marc Márquez of pole position this season, but fabio quartararo is not (yet) the first to deprive him of a Sprint victory. The Catalan has now notched up a sixth victory in as many races this season, after defeating the Frenchman. The latter still had a great moment in La Sarthe, taking pole position in front of his home crowd and then leading the first laps of the sprint race.

But the expected finally happened: Márquez found the opening and quickly took off, while Fabio Quartararo began to drop in pace, suffering from significant rear tire damage. The 2021 world champion tried to resist Álex Márquez, who eventually also found the opening, before his teammate Fermín Aldeguer snatched third place from the Yamaha rider.

Quartararo lucid about Yamaha's shortcomings

Having fallen to fourth place, just off the podium, Quartararo was nonetheless smiling after the finish, aware of his mount's strength over a lap, but also of its limits in race pace. "We know that on one lap, we've found something and that we'll be able to push ourselves to the limit. On the other hand, in the race, we know that we lack pace, acceleration and power. In short, lots of little things to be at their level.", confesses the Nice native speaking of the Ducati, still untouchable at Le Mans.

"I rode a smart race, I knew I couldn't fight for the podium, but I wanted to do my best."He says. “I had fun and I think fourth place was the best possible result today. I think we had a really good race. We know what we're missing and what we need. Being a little disappointed with a fourth place sprint, I think it's positive, because last year we weren't even in the points. It feels good, we always want more, but you have to know how to stay calm too.”

On Sunday, the Frenchman will start again from pole position with different tires which will allow him to limit degradation, especially as it should be cooler in Sarthe.

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