Quartararo: “I see the light at the end of the tunnel”

fabio quartararo had a rather positive Catalan Grand Prix, marked by a good tenth place at the finish in the main race, which was far from being due to chance.

Starting from seventeenth place on the starting grid, the Niçois got off to a good start, and completed the first lap in thirteenth place. Then taking advantage of a few racing events, the No. 20 managed to defend his position, while attacking, like his overtake on Maverick Viñales.

On the last lap, he managed to get rid of Marco Bezzecchi and Miguel Oliveira in an intense fight for tenth place where the positions evolved to the rhythm of the attacks between different protagonists.

Taking advantage of the penalty imposed on Enea Bastianini for non-compliant Long Lap, Quartararo leaves Catalonia with ninth place in his pocket. A result which gives a big smile to the 2021 world champion who has the impression of seeing his machine progress.

“It was a pretty good result. There weren't many accidents in front of me either, so it was a very good race, assures Quartararo. We finished less than 5 seconds from the top-5, which is really positive. The sensations were better than I expected. We know what we're missing, but we're working on it.

I saw Bezzecchi and Oliveira fighting in front of me during the last laps, He explains. I knew how hard it is to brake into the first corner and, given how close they were fighting, I assumed they were going to go wide. I decided to brake very early to gain some speed when accelerating, and it worked. »

The objective for Yamaha will therefore be to continue its momentum, and not to slow down the pace of progress that the factory is currently displaying, and which delights Quartararo.

“At Le Mans the pace was good and here it was great, adds the Tricolore again. I hope we can make big progress in Mugello and in the private test in Valencia afterwards. I feel like we're making progress all the time, I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, which is great. »

For the other Frenchman on the grid, however, Sunday was not the easiest. After a difficult start to the race, Johann Zarco tried to get out of the game and fought for points against his opponents. The Cannes native, however, lacked feeling behind the handlebars of his Honda, and failed just outside the top-15.

“The race was difficult. I wanted to push, but we were limited, and to avoid mistakes, I couldn't do more, he comments on the evening of the test. We are confident for the next race and testing at Mugello, we would like to take a step forward and fight for better positions.

I'm frustrated not to have had good feelings during the race, he adds at the microphone of Canal +. I tried to control, and when I thought I could get some speed, the bike didn't respond. On Sunday, if we're not at least the first Honda, it's because we didn't work well enough. »

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