The MotoGP returns from the summer break and does so on the Silverstone track, where the ninth round of the season will take place this weekend. In the first eight, Fabio Quartararo only got one podium, so he certainly can’t be satisfied with the start of 2023. The Yamaha rider returns to the track where he had won in 2021, but this year he arrives with an awareness and a situation quite different.
The options for success are slim, but that doesn’t lead to demoralization. On the Thursday before the action on the track, El Diablo says he’s ready to face the first weekend back from the summer break. He underwent surgery on his foot immediately after the Assen race and is now fully recovered: “We have to approach the races in a totally different way this year, we’ll do our best. Like any grand prix, I will give 100% until day one and I hope it will work out.”
“Definitely the first part of the season hasn’t been what I expected, it’s been frustrating,” continues Quartararo as he reflects on what he can achieve this weekend. “We came from 2021 and 2022 which were excellent, but this year we only got one podium. But we must look ahead. Without a doubt, the summer break has been good for me. We feel and know we are not ready to fight for a podium at the moment. In some races, if we do great qualifying and if we do everything great, we can get a good result. But it’s always necessary to do our best, our mentality is to give 100% and finish in the best possible position.”
In two years the situation has reversed, despite this, the Frenchman believes that Silverstone is a spectacular track: “The layout is great, it also depends on the track temperatures. There are some points where it’s better, for example Turn 2 will be a bit cold this weekend. But it’s definitely a nice track, I like it a lot, in turns 10 and 11 there’s a very nice change of direction. It’s fun, hopefully we can have fun this weekend.”
Having fun will help Quartararo, if only for morale. Another help could come from the test team, which sees Cal Crutchlow involved. The Briton will contest a wild card race at Motegi at the beginning of October. Participation is aimed at development work, as stated by Yamaha itself. However, the Nicoise thinks that this isn’t a huge help, but that the key points are the actual tests: “It’s just a wild card, so I don’t think it’s a big turning point for us. Cal has done some testing, but I don’t think one grand prix will make a difference. I hope it can be like this, but after Misano we will have tests and I think that is the moment in which we will understand if there will be a turning point or not, even before the Crutchlow race”.
Before diving into the race weekend, Quartararo takes a look at the future. In fact, the news came yesterday that from next year he will have a new teammate. Franco Morbidelli leaves Yamaha and his place will be taken by Alex Rins. Second El Diablodespite the farewell of Soft it’s a shame, a highly experienced rider arrives: “I think I spent my entire career in MotoGP with Franco, only the first part of 2021 with Vinales. We have known each other for a long time and of course I wish him all the best for the future. As for Alex, I think it’s a new challenge for him and for the team. But it is also for me, I think he has a lot of experience, he was at Suzuki until last year, Honda this year and Yamaha next year. So he gained a lot of experience on totally different bikes ”.
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