Fabio Quartararo powerless during the Sprint in Catalonia: "As soon as we shift into 3rd gear, we get left behind"

fabio quartararo experienced a complicated sprint in Catalonia. Starting from 7th position on the grid, the Yamaha rider could only manage 13th at the finish, quickly overtaken in a pack where the technical weaknesses of the Yamaha M1 V4 were further accentuated.

From the outset, the Frenchman was put in difficulty, overtaken by opponents from each brand whose top speed was significantly higher than that of Yamaha: "As soon as we shift into third gear, we get blown away.""He explained to the media on Saturday afternoon. Attacked from all sides by his rivals approaching the first corner, he limited the damage but quickly lost positions. The rest of the race confirmed his fears." "The pace wasn't fantastic." "15 km/h slower on a straight road isn't ideal..."

Forced to compensate for this deficiency through his riding, Quartararo had to put more strain on his tires. “I had to do it to maintain my position, so I kind of destroyed them. I knew I'd be out of the points, I did my best, but it wasn't enough.” laments the 2021 world champion. We know our bike doesn't turn properly and has no grip. There are many things we need to improve, and we can't find anything.

While these problems are less visible on high-grip tracks such as Le MansThey expose themselves in the open on tracks like Barcelona, ​​but not only there. At the upcoming rounds on the calendar, at Mugello (Italy) or Balaton Park (Hungary), Fabio Quartararo's troubles are expected to be similar: "I expect some tough races."

Under these conditions, the 2021 world champion has no illusions about Sunday's long race. "Tomorrow will be the same... or worse.", he warns, particularly because of the expected drop in grip after the Moto2 race.

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