Fabio Quartararo had an almost perfect weekend on the winding Sachsenring circuit. Despite a difficult start to the weekend, the Nice native made a perfect comeback on Saturday and then in the Grand Prix.
For this 11th round of the MotoGP season, teams gathered at the Sachsenring, a short circuit (3.6 km) where overtaking opportunities are very rare due to the hilly terrain and sequence of corners without heavy braking.
A track on which Fabio Quartararo had already distinguished himself last year by finishing 4th with a struggling Yamaha. Hope for a good result was therefore present for the Maralpin. Despite a complicated start to the weekend during which he found himself far back, behind Jack Miller, a Pramac rider, within a Yamaha satellite team, the Azurean found the key to perform at the best moment. Coming out of Q1, he managed to post the 6th fastest time in qualifying just three tenths from pole position, a real feat given the classification of his teammates, all relegated to more than four tenths from the number 20 Yamaha.
Well positioned on the sprint race grid, the Nice native maintained his position at the start. But faced with Ducatis and Aprilias, the Frenchman could do nothing and lost two places before the end of the first lap. ‘El Diablo’ was dropping nearly half a second per lap and found himself under threat from Pedro Acosta, who passed him without difficulty in the last corner. The rest of the race was nothing but preparation for Sunday’s Grand Prix. At the finish, Fabio Quartararo (9th) said he was satisfied with his riding: “We gave our maximum. We know that at the start of a race we always encounter some difficulties following others,” he explained on Canal+ microphone. “I gave my maximum but I was passed by Bagnaia and Martin. Then we followed our pace, which is what I expected and the position I hoped for. We knew we had done a very, very good qualification, but we couldn’t expect to finish sixth, so we did the maximum possible.”
On the other hand, optimism was not necessarily warranted for the Grand Prix: “It will be more complicated because we’re overheating the tires a lot. We struggle to be competitive on long runs like tomorrow (today), where there are 30 laps to go. I’ll try to make a good start, a good beginning to the race and then establish my pace.”
Perfect management on Sunday
This Sunday, Fabio Quartararo had a similar start to the sprint. Overtaken by Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin, the Maralpin also gave way to Pedro Acosta to find himself 9th at the end of the first lap. Threatened by Jack Miller, the Nice native struggled to find the right tire temperature window. Always slower than the riders ahead of him, he created a small train behind him. Despite the pressure from about ten riders, with Jack Miller leading the way, the Azurean managed to hold off his pursuers.
After good tire management, Fabio Quartararo came back slightly on the leaders. Benefiting from two crashes at the front, ‘El Diablo’ moved up to 7th position after the first third of the race. As the laps went on, the Nice native managed to create a small gap to find himself alone on track. Managing his tires, the Frenchman seemed in control to score good points. Despite a top speed deficit, Fabio Quartararo managed to keep pace with the leaders and pocket nine points for 7th place, 17 seconds behind the winner.
A fine performance as we still await confirmation of his move to Honda next season, after he announced the end of his collaboration with Yamaha at the end of the 2026 season. This weekend in Germany illustrates once again the professionalism of the Nice rider.
Now, time for vacation: MotoGP riders will return to England, at Silverstone, the weekend of August 9.
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