The Portuguese Grand Prix was a special one for Fabio Quartararo, who achieved his first success of the season by climbing to the top of the standings. The reigning world champion redeemed himself from a particularly difficult start to the championship in which he lamented the lack of progress on his Yamaha. The victory in Portimao, however, represents an injection of confidence also in view of Jerez.
Indeed, MotoGP lands in Andalusia this weekend for the sixth round of the season and there El Diablo comes from the world leader. The layout of the track is particularly favorable to the M1 and at Jerez the rider from Nice aims to consolidate his leadership in the standings, thus trying to exploit the strengths of the bike.
Quartararo, fresh from the triumph of the Portuguese Grand Prix, is ready to face the Spanish weekend, where last year he lost the victory only due to an arm pump problem: “The victory in Portimao was fantastic. I really enjoyed the ride and of course the celebrations with the team. But now is the time to get serious again, I’m level on points at the top of the world championship standings, so we’ll try to give our best again, I’ll never give up ”.
“In Portimao we were lucky in a way because it fits quite well with our bike and Jerez is also another one of those circuits that play in our favor and enhance our strengths, so I’ll do my best. Last year, I could have won the race here easily if it wasn’t for my arm pump problem. This year I’ll try again! ”.
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
A different story for Franco Morbidelli, who is still in the process of adapting to the M1. Quartararo at the moment seems the only rider capable of interpreting this Yamaha and the difficulties of the Italian rider are very evident in this first phase of the season. For Morbidelli, the Monday after the grand prix will also be important. The MotoGP will in fact stop in Jerez for a day of collective tests, where he will aim to find improvements that can take him further on the grid.
“Of course, the Portimão race was very disappointing,” says Morbidelli. “We have scored points for the championship, but we should be fighting more in the top positions. We will be working hard this weekend to book further progress and find a good setup in Jerez. We also have one more day on the bike, Monday during testing. This race weekend and the Jerez test represent an important opportunity for us to improve things ”.
Franco Morbidelli, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
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