GP of Portugal – GP of Portugal: Fabio Quartararo (14th) had his arms full … – Used YAMAHA

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Portuguese GP: Fabio Quartararo (14th) had his arms full…

GP of Portugal - GP of Portugal: Fabio Quartararo (14th) had his arms full ... - Used YAMAHA

Fabio Quartararo, strong candidate for the title of world champion in his second season in MotoGP, finally finished in 8th place in the 2020 world championship after another disappointment in the last final… The Frenchman ended his career at Petronas-SRT – and his 100th Grand Prix – with a 14th position at the Portuguese GP in Portimaõ. MNC declaration and balance sheet.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha SRT-Petronas (5th in qualifying, 14th in race, 8th in the championship) : "I encountered a problem with the aid device at the start and I lost several positions. Then I suffered from arm-up (compartment syndrome, ie excessive swelling of the muscles in their sheath, Editor’s note. ), Which is really strange because I have not suffered from this problem since my operation (, Editor’s note) ". 

  • GP of Portugal:
  • GP of Portugal:
  • MNC file :

"I would have liked to finish this final with a much better result: the sensations on the bike were good, so it was possible to finish between 5th and 8th places. Too bad this compartment syndrome prevented me from achieving this. We have won three races, which is very positive, but this season really did not end as we wanted. ". 

"These two years that I spent with the team will nevertheless always remain in my heart, because they gave me the opportunity to integrate the MotoGP championship. Thank you very much for all their support and their hard work: I will pay them back. visit whenever I can ".

“Next week I’m planning to relax and take a break from the media and all that stuff. I want to get off the bike 100% and go see my family, because honestly it’s been a long time since I’ve had them. not really seen ". 

MNC analysis : The disappointment of the young French prodigy (21 years old) was up to the stakes at the arrival of the Portuguese GP: Fabio Quartararo had trouble concealing his frustration at his inability to stay at the forefront, as he l ‘had brilliantly done in 2019 and then at the start of the 2020 season…

 GP of Portugal - GP of Portugal: Fabio Quartararo (14th) had his arms full ... - Used YAMAHA

The second campaign of No. 20 in MotoGP will have been like Portimaõ, the last circuit on the calendar: roller coasters, both sporty and emotional! The Nice driver won three remarkable successes – unprecedented in the premier class for a French driver – and four poles, thus inheriting the BMW M Award trophy which rewards the fastest in qualifying.

Better still: Fabio is the longest pilot remained in control of the world championship, again an unprecedented feat for a French representative! Enough to raise high expectations … too much perhaps for his second year only among the elite. Although: Joan Mir does not take the supreme title after two MotoGP exercises ?!

Recall that Fabio Quartararo found himself at the head of the championship after his double in Jerez (Spain), donning the costume of potential successor to Marc Marquez as he was heading towards a white season after having smashed his shoulder upon opening. Stinging setback for n ° 93 and Honda, but a golden opportunity for its competitors including Fabio !

Title pressure 

But the inevitable pressure related to the status of favorite is felt for the No. 20, who fails to reproduce his Andalusian dynamic: 7th in the Czech Republic, then 8th and 13th in Austria, the Frenchman sees Dovizioso return to three small points . In lack of grip with his M1 and penalized by the clamping operated on his engine, Fabio said he was the first surprised to be still leading the championship in mid-August…

 GP of Portugal - GP of Portugal: Fabio Quartararo (14th) had his arms full ... - Used YAMAHA

The fall of the tricolor the following race in Misano 1 allows "Dovi" to briefly take control of the provisional, despite an instant response from Quartararo with 4th place in Misano 2. The Yamaha rider then recovers the reins of the classification thanks to his splendid victory in Catalonia … alas not transformed at Le Mans with a 9th place which betrays its progress to be made in the wet.

Things definitely got tougher in Aragon in mid-October: Fabio finished the first Spanish round at a distant 18th position, the victim of a pressure problem in his front tire. Joan Mir, less brilliant but more consistent, takes the opportunity to steal first place in the provisional: the 23-year-old Suzuki rider will no longer leave the chair of the premier category, winning the coronation in Valencia (Spain).

Valentino Rossi’s successor, for his part, had a second complicated race the following Sunday (8th in Aragon 2) which made him doubt his ability to return to the top … The young Frenchman noted that his lack of consistency was paid for in cash, which whatever the reasons: impossible to stay at the forefront without managing to save big points on difficult races.

  • MotoGP grid : 

Often annoyed, sometimes even angry, the young tricolor prodigy comes to regret the M1 2019 considered more obvious and homogeneous! The 2020 has yet won four times, to which can be added the three successes of Morbidelli on a hybrid "2019-2020". That is 50% of the races won by the Yamaha, while the M1 2019 had won only once last year with Viñales…

GP of Portugal - GP of Portugal: Fabio Quartararo (14th) had his arms full ... - Used YAMAHA

The Petronas-SRT rider is the first to regret it: he has no podium except his victories, which he believes reflects the extreme volatility of the Yamaha. This opinion is shared by his future teammate Viñales: either the M1 is unbeatable from the first practice session, or its tuning is a nightmare and its grip elusive. All or nothing, in short !

Valentino Rossi, more measured, believes for his part that this inconstancy is nothing recent: the "Doctor" sees it as one of the effects of the transition from Bridgestone tires to Michelin in 2016, which would not have succeeded at Yamaha. Another badly negotiated turn at Iwata: the switch to single electronics, an area where the delay of the M1 tends to continuously increase according to n ° 46.

A missed opportunity

Lost in his settings and marked on an emotional level, Fabio Quartararo continues two bad races in Valencia (14th and crash): here he is down to 5th place in the standings before the final in Portimaõ, still in contention for the "title" of vice-world champion.

 GP of Portugal - GP of Portugal: Fabio Quartararo (14th) had his arms full ... - Used YAMAHA

Objective missed: the n ° 20 passed through his Portuguese weekend and ended his career at Petronas-SRT in an anonymous 14th place, falling again by three positions overall. Finally eighth, Fabio does less well than his first season among the elite: 5th in 2019. 

Who would have believed him with regard to his prodigious speed, which earned him three superb victories – tied with his teammate Franco Morbidelli – against two for Oliveira and only one for Viñales, Mir, Rins, Dovizioso, Binder and Petrucci ?! However, can his season be called a failure? ?

Yes and no, depending on expectations: "some riders do not win a single race in their MotoGP career", underlines Fabio Quartararo aptly. Triple winner in the premier class at only 21 years old, admit that it’s great ?! Rather than severely concluding a missed season, let’s say a missed opportunity.

A champion (too?) Sensitive

The only real criticism that can be addressed to him is actually his difficulty in channeling his emotions, an aspect that already played tricks on him when he arrived in the Moto3 world championship. At the time, many saw him as the next Marc Marquez in view of his meteoric trajectory in the Spanish league: too much pressure, too soon. Already…

"I started to work to be calmer and suffer my emotions as little as possible," admits the Nice man, aware of the need to be more immune to the vagaries of motorcycle racing. Fabio knows how to go for it, that’s indisputable. But he must learn to take a step back to move forward…

"I have planned to see a psychologist next week at my home: I have been there several times before but I will go more often because small differences can produce big changes", he adds frankly, where most high level athletes prefer to use the term "mental coach".

Morbidelli, from shadow to light

Another aspect at the origin of Fabio’s rout: the rise in power of his teammate, however less well armed with his previous generation motorcycle. "I clearly felt the feeling of being the fourth force at Yamaha", describes Franco Morbidelli, stung by this choice.

 GP of Portugal - GP of Portugal: Fabio Quartararo (14th) had his arms full ... - Used YAMAHA

Morbidelli, in the shadow of the French since his debut in 2019, has shown himself in full light this season with five podiums including three wins. Quite a twist of the situation insofar as the Italian-Brazilian was inspired by Fabio’s data last year! But "Franky" walked without pressure, him…

Rossi’s future teammate finished in a good second place overall, offering his employer and his team the best position in the driver and team rankings. Morbidelli took the opportunity to recall how disappointed he had been to learn that he would be riding the same bike next year when Viñales, Quartararo and Rossi will be on 2020 versions..

"I am happy that we finished second in the championship: to be vice-world champion in MotoGP is something great," he describes. “My dream is bigger than that, but I will always remember this season. Many thanks to my team for helping me reach this goal: I will work now to improve myself and see what next season m ‘will bring ".

Portuguese GP 2020 results (MotoGP final race)

  1. Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM 41’48.163
  2. Jack MILLER Ducati +3.193
  3. Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha +3.298
  4. Pol ESPARGARO KTM +12.626
  5. Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda +13.318
  6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati +15.578
  7. Stefan BRADL Honda +15.738
  8. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia +16.034
  9. Alex MARQUEZ Honda +18.325
  10. Johann ZARCO Ducati +18.596
  11. Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha +18.685
  12. Valentino ROSSI Yamaha +18.946
  13. Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda +19.159
  14. Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha +24.376
  15. Alex RINS Suzuki +27.776
  16. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati +34.266
  17. Mika KALLIO KTM +48.410
  18. Tito RABAT Ducati +48.411

Not classified

  • Lorenzo SAVADORI Aprilia 3 Tours
  • Joan MIR Suzuki 10 Tours
  • Brad BINDER KTM 23 Laps
  • Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati 0 Lap

MotoGP riders general classification 2020 

  1. Joan MIR Suzuki 171
  2. Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha 158
  3. Alex RINS Suzuki 139
  4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati 135
  5. Pol ESPARGARO KTM 135
  6. Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha 132
  7. Jack MILLER Ducati 132
  8. Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha 127
  9. Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM 125
  10. Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda 116
  11. Brad BINDER KTM 87
  12. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati 78
  13. Johann ZARCO Ducati 77
  14. Alex MARQUEZ Honda 74
  15. Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 66
  16. Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati 47
  17. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia 42
  18. Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda 32
  19. Stefan BRADL Honda 27
  20. Iker LECUONA KTM 27
  21. Bradley SMITH Aprilia 12
  22. Tito RABAT Ducati 10
  23. Michele PIRRO Ducati 4

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