Quartararo hasn't had this much fun in a race for a long time.

The 2021 world champion had remained somewhat in the shadow of his compatriot Johann Zarco during the first two rounds of the championship. This Saturday in Austin, Texas, it was his turn to take the spotlight, with a race full of pugnacity, to take sixth place. Starting eleventh, the Frenchman found himself in the fight for the podium from the first lap, thanks to an excellent start that saw him make the inside of most of his opponents. Once Francesco Bagnaia was out of reach, the Yamaha rider had a great battle against the two Ducatis of the VR46 team.

Although he ultimately had to admit defeat to Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli, the Nice driver finished nearly two seconds ahead of Pedro Acosta's KTM. This gives him confidence and optimism for Sunday's race, where tire management will be important. If the pace shown in Free Practice 2 on Saturday morning is anything to go by, the blue machine with the number 20 could once again be at the top of the table.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun in a race.”, said fabio quartararo at the microphone of Canal+. "Getting off to a good start changes everything. Then there were some daring overtakes from Morbidelli and Di Giannantonio, which helped me a bit. The pace wasn't that bad; even in FP2 this morning, things were going pretty well. Clearly, we had a very good race."

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