Fabio Quartararo after the Silverstone GP: “no reason to be satisfied”

At Silverstone, Fabio Quartararo did not have the comeback he hoped for. Still struggling with his machine, the Nice native was quite defeatist at the end of this weekend. 

On the longest circuit of the MotoGP season at Silverstone, the 23 riders on the grid made their return to school. A legendary track for mechanical sports enthusiasts, marked by very technical turns and long full-throttle phases. A layout not particularly suited to the Yamaha of Nice’s Fabio Quartararo, a fact that would show in the timesheets. Yet on pole position last year here, the Frenchman had to go through Q1. The Azurian missed the passage to Q2 by just five hundredths.

Thirteenth on the grid for the sprint race, Fabio Quartararo held his ground. Benefiting from race incidents, the Maralpin managed to work his way back into the top 10. Before mid-race, Fabio Quartararo was battling with Diogo Moreira, the usual teammate of Johann Zarco whose return date is becoming clearer by the day.

Fighting with the Brazilian and Luca Marini, whom he will replace next year at Honda, Fabio Quartararo finally finished the ten laps of the sprint race in fourteenth position behind Jack Miller. Due to severe tire degradation that heavily disrupted many riders on Saturday afternoon. At the end of the race, the Nice native, starting on soft tires, explained that he did not consider starting with a harder tire: “To be honest, finishing in the points today was something almost impossible. So I wanted to take my chances with the soft. I know Jack (Miller) was starting with the medium, but I mean, if you already start with a harder tire than others and you know you already have less grip, then it’s certain that it’s impossible to score a point.”

When asked about the possibility of a better result on Sunday, Fabio Quartararo was crystal clear: “I’m not expecting anything in particular. Just the medium tire and, you know, it’s the kind of circuit where, if you don’t really feel the front and rear working together in the fast corners, it means you’re super tense. I know that’s something I really need and we don’t have it here […] I’m just going to try to maximize the result.”

No miracle in the race for Fabio Quartararo

This Sunday, for the Grand Prix, Fabio Quartararo put his words from the day before into practice. Very aggressive at the start, he managed to gain positions to find himself ninth fighting with the Ducati VR46s. In the rhythm of the men ahead of him, ‘El Diablo’ hung on in the first quarter of the race before slowly falling back in the midst of a tight pack that eventually thinned out due to the numerous crashes (seven during the race). Gradually slipping out of the top 10, the Nice native held on despite his discomfort on his Yamaha.

The only consolation, Fabio Quartararo finishes as the best Yamaha rider (12th) ahead of Jack Miller. Speaking to Canal+, it was time to settle scores: “No pleasure today, it was a matter of survival. The way we’re driving is not at all right when you look at the others, but well… I managed to score a few points. We gave our all.” The Frenchman still seems frustrated with his bike. “We know we can’t overtake, we see the tires are worn. There’s no reason to be satisfied today,” the Frenchman said at the finish. “The mindset is to try not to get hurt and get the best possible results to prepare well for next year.”

Let’s hope the season ends soon! Next appointment in Aragon the weekend of August 30 before possibly seeing Johann Zarco back on track in San Marino for the following race.