Saturday definitely to be forgotten at Monster Energy Yamaha at the Losail International Circuit. If the reigning champion Fabio Quartararo did not make an impact as usual in the decisive time attack of Q2 (only 11th), worse went to team mate Franco Morbidelli, just behind the Frenchman in 12th position with a time of 1’53 “982.
“Both Fabio and I did an excellent lap, the happy note is that I’m not too far from him, even if I couldn’t match his pace, I was three tenths slower than him. This qualifying result is below our expectations. Overall, many of our rivals take a further step on the flying lap, especially here in Qatar where you have very soft tires, which we are not able to do at the moment. We have to keep rolling up our sleeves, but the race pace is good and we’ll see where we are tomorrow “Franco began.
What kind of race do you expect tomorrow? The drivers with the fastest race pace are not in the front rows.
“It is difficult to predict tomorrow’s result, Qatar is usually the scene of very special races. The important thing will be to be able to better manage the tires for the end of the race. It will not be easy to recover from behind, but nothing is lost because the position is not so terrible. To be honest, Fabio’s pace is good so if I manage to get close, I think I can do well tomorrow. ”
Fabio asked Yamaha something more than the aerodynamic package, at least for Mugello. Do you think the same way? Why are you unable to exploit your potential in qualifying?
“Right now I don’t have a precise answer on this, we will have to analyze the data better to figure it out. When we mount new tires, we simply improve the chronometric references less than our rivals, despite the sensations in the saddle are more than positive. Despite this, others manage to do better than us. We all know Fabio’s abilities on the flying lap, no one can question them, and I don’t think I’m too far from those results, so now we’ll have to work to understand what we’re missing “, admitted the Italian driver.
Does the new bike require a different riding style?
“My driving style has absolutely not changed compared to last year, we are continuing on the path taken in the winter tests and we have to think step by step”.
Do you think that the soft on the rear could be a valid choice for tomorrow’s race?
“At the moment I don’t know, I think even the medium is an option not to be underestimated, that’s what Fabio used. Personally, with the soft compound I felt good.” he then concluded.
Andrea Periccioli collaborated
