While he was unable to climb into the Top 10 on Friday and will have to go through Q1 during qualifying for the Argentine Grand Prix, Fabio Quartararo said he was in the dark with his feelings on the handlebars of the Yamaha.
Fabio Quartararo had a difficult Friday at Termas de Rio Hondo. A week after a painful Portuguese Grand Prix, with a tenth place in the sprint and then a race finished in eighth position, the 2021 world champion is in a delicate position for qualifying. Only thirteenth to three-quarters of a second from the best time signed by Aleix Espargaro, “El Diablo” will have to go through Q1 if he wants to obtain a good position on the starting grid of the two races of the weekend. For this, Fabio Quartararo will have to regain performance.
« The worst thing is that the sensations are not so bad, but there is a lot with the rear on corner entry, we can not keep speed in curve, we have no acceleration, summed up the French in front of the press at the end of the second free practice session of the Argentine Grand Prix. It is especially the curve speed that I miss. I feel super stiff on the bike, I don’t feel that’s normal. We have to understand why. »
Fabio Quartararo’s cry of rage after the session 🤬 #ArgentinaGP 🇦🇷 | #MotoGP https://t.co/TY73g6Q1MV pic.twitter.com/WzCzV2I0vL
— CANAL+ MotoGP™ (@CanalplusMotoGP) March 31, 2023
Quartararo: “I feel it’s not my bike”
After experimenting with different settings at the start of the day, Fabio Quartararo retraced his steps in the afternoon, but this did not change the situation. “In general, the pace is still good but today (Friday), if not the first stint in the second free practice session which was slightly better, it was bad, he thundered. When you don’t know why you’re slow, that’s the worst. In fact, the 2022 vice-world champion claims not to be in tune with his mount and not to know why. “We haven’t changed a lot of things on the bike, but I feel it’s not my bike “, he said to the press, highlighting a glaring lack of grip in curves.
But what saddens Fabio Quartararo the most is seeing his teammate Franco Morbidelli, for whom he was not kind last weekend, doing better with the ninth time and a direct qualification for Q2. ” It’s unusual and that’s why you have to understand what happened and what the problem is, because I don’t understand why we are so far away and I feel so bad on the bike, added the Frenchman. Obviously, he is fast. Everything we can take, we will take it but it takes more than a tenth, it’s a question of feelings. »