The Japanese Grand Prix promised to be a new threat for Fabio Quartararo. The Yamaha rider, in fact, in the previous five races had lost 81 points compared to his main rival in the fight for the championship, Pecco Bagnaia, and also Aleix Espargaró, who started from the second row, was ready to reduce the gap in the standings.
The Frenchman, who started from the ninth position, was however the only one of the three drivers to finish the race with points, thus consolidating his leadership in the standings.
Despite this Quartararo, eighth at the finish line, concluded the Motegi race with the disappointment of not being able to recover.
“We have to think about the future, and that is the next race, because we won’t be returning to Japan until next year, and then we’ll have a better bike. I haven’t had fun riding it for a long time.”
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Having disposed of the disappointment for a place not to be remembered, Fabio however said he was satisfied with having made the most of the situation.
“Given the circumstances, it’s better to take eight points than lose them. But it’s also frustrating,” he said. “I couldn’t have fought Jack Miller, who was on another planet today, but maybe I could have fought Marc Marquez and Miguel Oliveira. “.
“I was behind Maverick the whole race and I couldn’t even try to overtake. This was due to something we changed before the race and not related to the tires.”
“It was a mistake on our part, but I also think the tire was not the right one. We had little time on the track to run in the dry. “
Fabio’s luck is that Bagnaia crashed just as he was trying to overtake him on the last lap of the race.
“I didn’t see him coming, but I felt him fall, so he couldn’t be too far from me. I knew he was coming, but I was stuck behind Maverick Viñales. Pecco was having a great race. I braked late, but he he braked even later. “
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