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Fabio Quartararo’s Impressive Showing at Qatar GP Sprint

Fabio Quartararo, representing Yamaha in the factory racing team, expressed his satisfaction with his performance during the Qatar GP sprint race on Saturday. After qualifying for a front-row start, Quartararo managed to secure a fifth-place finish, marking an improvement over his previous results this season.

Initially, Quartararo held third position, matching his qualifying place. However, he soon found himself overtaken by Franco Morbidelli from the VR46 Ducati team. Despite maintaining fourth place for much of the race, a late mistake at the final corner allowed rookie Fermin Aldeguer to pass him, resulting in a fifth-place finish.

Despite the late slip, Quartararo remained upbeat, viewing the fifth position as a step forward from his earlier performance in the sprint race in Austin, where he had finished sixth. “It was positive to see the pace we had over 11 laps. I was a bit worried about that,” he noted.

Quartararo commented on the challenging task of overtaking Ducati riders during the race. “The race was pretty good. We had a pretty good pace but unfortunately, it’s complicated to prepare an overtake on the Ducatis. I think I made a very good start and a good first lap, but it was complicated to do better,” he explained.

He had approached the race with some apprehension, worried about the potential for a disappointing performance, but was confident about his qualifying effort. “I knew I was going to make a really, really good qualifying lap. I didn’t know it was going to be that good – but it was one of the first times [I could] push that much to the limit and make zero mistakes,” Quartararo remarked.

The front-row start marked his first since the Dutch TT in 2022, a notable milestone for the rider. “That’s quite a long time and I think it’s interesting. I’m having a lot more fun on a qualifying lap than in a race. To go flat out like that on a lap is exceptional and I think it was the best moment of the day,” he reflected.

Prior to the race, Quartararo had decided against making any adjustments to his bike throughout the weekend, opting instead to focus on enhancing his personal riding approach. He acknowledged that the Yamaha M1 motorcycle continues to perform well on the Losail circuit, aligning with his skills. “The bike suits the track quite well. I think this is really positive and we have to take the benefit. It’s not always that we have this feeling so I had to throw everything [at it] and hopefully at the next races we have the same feeling,” Quartararo shared.

He expressed his excitement regarding the lap times, noting significant improvements compared to the previous year: “It’s a really long time since I felt like that over one lap. And we are I think 1.2 seconds faster than last year so it’s really, really good. It feels great, especially the qualifying – not seeing anyone in front [on the grid] makes a change!”

As Quartararo continues to build momentum, fans and analysts alike look forward to his future performances, hoping he can replicate this level of competitiveness throughout the remainder of the season.

Source
www.autosport.com