"We're going to suffer," Fabio Quartararo fears Yamaha's lack of grip in Catalonia

At Le Mans, fabio quartararo He rediscovered the joy of riding his Yamaha after a difficult start to the season, struggling to tame the M1 V4, whose weaknesses compared to other manufacturers are countless. Despite a busy weekend at his home race, the Frenchman managed to secure an excellent 6th place. But more than the raw result, it was the gap to the winner at the finish – only 7,7 seconds separating him from Jorge Martín – that gave him hope.

A week later, the MotoGP Yamaha sets up shop at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Catalan GP, ​​the 6th round of its season, and Yamaha's main desire is to confirm these good feelings on another circuit. "The biggest difference wasn't that the motorcycle was more powerful.", explains Fabio Quartararo to the media present in Barcelona regarding the previous meeting. During the first four races, I wasn't really able to ride. Now I can push. At Le Mans, I rode completely on the limit from the first lap to the last. It was fun, but we lacked a bit of lean angle, power, and grip to stay with the leaders.

Achieving a result similar to that of Le Mans would be highly satisfying for the individual concerned: “If we consistently finish within ten seconds of the winner, that will be positive, but we haven’t brought anything new to the table. There are many things we’re missing and we haven’t found the key yet.” puts things into perspective, says the 2021 world champion.

Fabio Quartararo visits Marc Márquez

Especially since in Barcelona, ​​the issue of grip, crucial on the often abrasive Catalan circuit, is a concern for the Yamaha rider: "This circuit is likely to be even worse for us. We know we already lack grip on a track that offers plenty, so on a surface that doesn't grip, we're going to suffer. During the race, tire degradation is high, so we can't always exploit the full potential of the tires. We'll see on Saturday and Sunday."

Upon arriving in Catalonia, Fabio Quartararo also went to check on Marc Márquez, who was present at the circuit although he was not competing in the 6th round of the season due to a foot injury sustained during the Sprint of the French GP, which forced him to anticipate a double operation on the sidelines of the event.

"I sent him a message before going there, I ran into his father and went to see him to offer my support. Nobody is happy to see bad falls and injuries." Regarding Márquez's recent performances despite his weakened shoulder, he adds: "We don't know the exact extent of his pain, only he can judge it, but his lap times, especially in Q1 at Le Mans (Where he broke the lap record(Editor's note), show that he is still extremely fast.

As a reminder, after the Catalan Grand Prix, the second Official Test of the year will take place, allowing each team's regular riders to test their manufacturer's latest developments. However, Fabio Quartararo is not expecting any improvements from Yamaha in this regard.

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