Quartararo: “I feel good, even very good! » 

fabio quartararo may not have qualified on the front row, but he will still start fourth. Objective achieved for the Niçois who aimed for a place among the top six.  The icing on the cake is that his rival, Francesco Bagnaia, will start from the third row. “I feel good, even very good,” he said Saturday evening. It's one of the best Saturdays of the season. FP4 was very good with a good pace. In the last laps we changed something regarding the electronics and it worked well. In qualifying, we know that we always struggle, but today I decided to give everything, we are fourth and I'm quite happy. »

To retain his crown, Quartararo has no choice but to win and hope that Bagnaia does not score more than one point. “I think about winning,” he confided. If I win, maybe something will happen, but my goal will be to fight for victory. It's the only thing I can do. The pace is good, the tire choice is quite clear so I'm confident. »

And to continue: “We will have to be aggressive, but intelligent, because the tire is constant, but in the past, the first 20 laps are always good and the performance of the tire deteriorates in the last seven loops, but I am confident. The tires are better than I expected, but we will have to be aggressive from the start. »

Bagnaia vs Quartararo, and the others… 

Bagnaia has been much more discreet since the weekend opening. The closer the deadline gets, the more pressure the Italian has to deal with. “They all look a little stressed and I think the closer we get to the moment, the more they will be,” underlines Quartararo. I experienced this last year, and it's normal. But if it can work in my favor, then so much the better. »

But if Bagnaia is behind, the Italian does not need to put himself in the red either. A place among the first 14 is enough to be titled, even if Quartararo wins. This time, there is no real need for team instructions at Ducati as long as a rider other than Quartararo wins, then the count is good. Among the contenders for victory, there is Martin, the pole sitter, but not only that. “There is also Oliveira, but he starts from a little far away,” explains Quartararo. Marini, who starts 11th, Martin on pole, Marc went very quickly with the soft tire this morning. Miller, a little less, but we know he's fast here. We're pretty good at having a good pace, and we're here to fight for victory. »