Indonesian MotoGP: Quartararo fires warning; 'I'm here to fight for the victory'

Fabio Quartararo claims he's ready to battle for his first MotoGP win of the 2022 season following a qualifying session that saw him clinch pole by over two tenths.
Fabio Quartararo, Indonesian MotoGP, 19 March 2022
Fabio Quartararo, Indonesian MotoGP, 19 March 2022
© Gold and Goose

After struggling to find one lap performance two weeks ago in Qatar, Quartararo had no such issues during the inaugural MotoGP qualiꦦfying arou🔯nd the Mandalika Street Circuit. 

The M1 Y🍒amaha rider, who already set a new official lap record during FP2, did so again to claim his 16th poꦅle in MotoGP since 2019. 

"Finally on one lap I felt great. It has been a long time since I felt good in one lap," said a relieved Quartararo. "I🌼 felt great in FP2 when I put the soft tyre on and also in FP4 I made 15 ൩or 14 really good laps in a row. 

"The pace was really good and it was importꦍant to do that many laps in a row to see the consistency of the tyres.ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ I expected much more drop from the rear. 

"It’s difficult to know because it’s a new track and we do⛄n’t know what to expect. But I felt much better🅰 than in Qatar and my potential is here to fight for the podium and victory."

Quartararo’s pole position coul🃏d ultimately prove vital in his attempt at winning Sunday’s race as the 22 year-old also alluded to the Yamaha b♔eing a bike that struggles to overtake. 

A big reason for that is the lack of power compared to other bikes, however, Mandalika provides its own challenges due to the circuit being dirty and therefore incredibl🅠y slippery oꦛff line.  

Quartararo added: "With our bike we struggl🀅e quite a lot to overtake, so then you need to play a little bit wit⛦h the pressure. 

"In this kind of track where it’s really hot it’s always better to start at the front instead of the back.&nbs🐭p;

"I feel like it’s a good trac🌺k to start from the front row. Let’s see how my start goes. Normally I’m not too bad this year."

Loo🍒king to𒅌 challenge Quartararo will be Jorge Martin, who will be hoping for a much better launch than the one he got from pole in Qatar.

Lauded for their incredible starts in 2021, Ducati ♚riders surprisingly struggled to replicate that at the Lu🐽sail International Circuit, which will need to be avoided if they have any ideas of keeping up with the current world champion. 

While Martin once again showed his knack for finding pace over one lap, it very nearly came at a cost as the Pramac rider lost the front 👍on two occasions during his fast lap. 

"It was a really difficult qualifying for me because the conditions were reall🍸y hot." added the one-time MotoGP race winner. 

"I was struggling a bit with the front and on my fast lap I lost the front in the first corner; I had a moment to think whether to keep pushing or 🔯to stop and lose that lap. 

"Also, I lost the front in corner 15, but still I finished a good lap and second is good. The target was the first row. I didn’t think about the pole positio🅘n because he (Fabio Quartararo) was super competitive. 

"Maybe I could have been closer but the position would have been the same. The p🍃ace is good so let’s see, we can fight for the top positions because my pace is better than Qatar. 

"There are five or siꩲx riders with a really good pace, also Marc [Marquez] and Pol [Espargaro] have a really good pace but they are back on the grid."

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