Qatar GP – Quartararo (16th): "Better to make mistakes at the start of the season"

Nice debutant Fabio Quartararo went from the immense joy of qualifying fifth in his very first premier Grand Prix in Qatar to the frustration of starting from the pit lane following an error before the warm-up lap… Declaration and debriefing.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha SRT Petronas (5th in qualifying and 16th in race) : "I made a mistake just before the start (he probably stalled on the grid before the warm-up lap, Editor’s note), it’s a real shame but it is better to commit at the start of the season rather than in the middle"…

• MNC special file :

“The first lap was very difficult because the tires were cold so I had to be very careful with the braking. I stayed calm and was very careful until they warmed up, then I accelerated and I went on the attack. I struggled a bit at the end of the race but I’m happy with the work we did here this weekend and during the tests ".

“I learned a lot during the race and the main lesson of this Grand Prix is ​​that it is much more difficult to overtake in MotoGP than in Moto2 or Moto3. I thank the whole team for their support on this first GP in the premier class and I’m already looking forward to the next one "(the Argentine Grand Prix on March 31, Editor’s note).

Site analysis : We will never know if Fabio Quartararo, who was to start 5th on the grid behind Viñales, Dovizioso, Marquez and Miller – and therefore ahead of all the others! – could have kept the top 5, or even aimed for a podium, or even… no, after all? And why not ?!

However, one can imagine that without his unfortunate mistake during the setting in the grid, he would have been largely able to hold a few laps at the forefront, even in the lead as when he was playing – like him – his very first MotoGP Grand Prix on this same circuit on the handlebars – also – of a Yamaha satellite…

Starting from the pit lane with a knife between his teeth, the young man from Nice swallowed Hafizh Syahrin on the KTM Tech3, then the tester Bradley Smith on the Aprilia in the 6th lap. Francesco Bagnaia and Karel Abraham will be the next victims of his frenzied pace the next round! Managed to get rid of Tito Rabat in the 10th lap, he then found himself in 18th position behind… Jorge Lorenzo on the official Honda !

Fabio overtook him in the 13th lap and retained the advantage for five laps, with Johann Zarco in his sights. But the n ° 20 then turns a second slower than the leaders, victim of wear on his rear tire: Fabio and his teammate Franco Morbidelli had made the daring choice of the soft tire (medium for Rossi, Viñales, Dovizioso and Marquez ), at the origin of their good performances at the start of the race but of certain difficulties at the end.

Best lap in the race !

The rhythm of the Yamaha Petronas unsurprisingly collapsed when the rubber wore out, especially for "El Diablo" who did not spare his efforts to come back from last position! Add to that the fatigue and stress of his upset start … and you have a young pilot pushed to the limit. Fabio will even miss a fault in turn 10, losing at that moment any possibility of attacking his compatriot in Orange….

Jorge Lorenzo resumed just after the advantage, while the French debutant took 16th position to the detriment of Miguel Oliveira. Fabio Quartararo – who celebrates his 20th birthday as MNC this year – leaves Qatar at the gate of the point of 15th place, but enriched with a life-size experience and the fastest time in the race, with a time of 1’55.039 signed in the third round !

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