Over the last two years, the conditions in which Fabio Quartararo arrived at the final round of the MotoGP season have changed a lot. In 2021, the Yamaha rider showed up in Valencia with the title already in his pocket, while last year he tried to challenge it with Pecco Bagnaia until the end, but was defeated in the duel with the Ducati rider. This time, however, “El Diablo” has a supporting role, at the end of a year that so far has not even granted him the joy of victory.
In these conditions, for him the sights already seem to be set on 2024 and on the innovations that the Iwata manufacturer will bring him to try in next Tuesday’s tests. But with this in mind, the Frenchman has also returned to talking about Sprints. It was clear that he didn’t like this format ever since it was announced in mid-2022, but now that he’s tried it himself he seems even more convinced of his idea and on Thursday in Valencia he launched a proposal: according to him, Dorna should move in the direction of F1 and ensure that the short Saturday races are present only in some selected events and not in the entire calendar, which, moreover, in 2024 will consist of 22 events.
“As a rider, I can guarantee you that sometimes I finish Sprints more tired than after a normal race. Motorcycles are increasingly physically demanding and I don’t think we need a Sprint every single weekend,” said Quartararo .
“For example, here in Valencia, it is the last race of the season and we already know that there will be a full crowd, so there is no need for an extra race on Saturday. We should do what Formula 1 does, which does the Sprints only on some weekends, even if I’m not the organizer and I don’t even know the opinion of all the other drivers. But I don’t think the current situation is the correct one”, he added.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
There has been talk for some time about the formation of a pilots’ association, which should increase their political weight even in the face of regulatory choices like this. However, the 2021 world champion believes that on issues of this magnitude it will always be very difficult to get the entire grid to agree.
“I honestly don’t know, but until all the riders sign an agreement it’s difficult to do something. For example, if 50% of the riders want something, it’s normal that there won’t be 22 riders who agree on the issue. Maybe there will be 15 in favor and the rest not. Even on the Sprints I’m sure there are drivers who like them, so what should we do? It’s a very difficult situation.”
According to him, therefore, the criterion that the association will have to follow, if and when it exists, will not be that of unanimity, otherwise it would be impossible to carry on every battle: “I think that the majority would be the right way to deal with things, because I think it’s impossible to always get all the drivers to agree. In fact, we never do when there’s something to discuss. Maybe 22 of us can agree when we talk about bumps on the track or a dangerous wall, but on other things, no. However, it will always be very difficult to get everyone to agree until there is something signed.”
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