Fabio Quartararo (12th): “I expected the worst” / MotoGP

In the build-up to the Austin GP, ​​Fabio Quartararo had pledged his loyalty to the Yamaha factory team until the end of the 2026 season. After finishing 12th in Sunday’s race in Texas, the Frenchman leaves the US on a positive note for the day future “We tried a lot of things throughout the weekend. Even in the race I started with an unknown bike. We were able to get good conclusions from that,” he happily concluded in the summary.

The 24-year-old’s start to the race was shaky. “Unfortunately I went to turn 12 in the first lap. “Because of that, I lost a few positions,” commented “El Diablo,” who dropped back to 20th place as a result.

With teammate Alex Rins holding his place in the top 10 until his crash, Quartararo began a catch-up race, which saw him cross the finish line in twelfth place, 22.899 seconds behind race winner Maverick Viñales (Aprilia). “I expected the worst. My pace was not good, but the tire wear was not as bad as I had feared before.”

As the best rider from the Japanese manufacturer, the 2021 MotoGP world champion has so far held a respectable twelfth place in the World Championship. But the list of results is currently a decorative addition to the Frenchman, because: “My thoughts are not on the results of the race, but on improving the motorcycle. Of course it is not easy. I am a winner and I want to win. But we have to take the positive with us .”

So Quartararo expects a complete program in the next few weeks: “Now we need new parts to improve further. Cal Crutchlow will test us before Jerez. After Le Mans we will then practice for two days at Mugello. This is going to be a busy month for us. The good thing is that we know what we need. Because we were missing one thing in all three races. But this weekend was great because we tried a lot of things.

Results Austin GP, ​​April 14, 2024:

1. Maverick Viñales, Aprilia, 18 Rdn. In 41:09,503 minutes
2. Pedro Acosta, KTM, +1,728
3. Enea Bastianini, Ducati, +2.703
4. Jorge Martín, Ducati, +4,690
5. Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati, +7,392
6. Fabio Di Giannantonio, Ducati, +9,980
7. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, +12.208
8. Marco Bezzecchi, Ducati, +13,343
9. Brad Binder, KTM, +14,931
10. Raúl Fernandez, Aprilia, +16,656
11. Miguel Oliveira, Aprilia, +18,542
12. Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha, +22,899
13. Jack Miller, KTM, +24,011
14. Augusto Fernandez, KTM, +27,652
15. Alex Márquez, Ducati, +32,855
16. Luca Marini, Honda, +33.528

World Drivers’ Championship after 6 of 42 races:
1. Martin 80 points
2. Bastianini 59
3. Vinales 56
4. Acosta 54
5. Bagnaia 50
6. Fastener 49
7. Espargaro 39
8. Marc Marquez 36
9. And Giannantonio 25
10. Miller 22
11. Bezzecchi 20
12. Every quarter
13. Alex Márquez 14
14. Oliveira 13
15. Raúl Fernández 7
16. Augusto Fernandez 7
17. Mir 7
18. Zarco 5
19. When 3
20. Nakagami 2
21. Morbidelli 0
22. Marini 0

World Builders Championship:
1. Ducati 96
2. KTM 76
3. April 72
4. Yamaha 19
5. Honda 8

World Cup Team:
1. Ducati Lenovo 109
2. April 95
3. Pramac 80
4. KTM 71
5. YEAR 61
6. Grease 50
7. VR46 45
8. Yamaha 22
9. Trackhouse 20
10. Honda 7
11. LCR 7