MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo has insisted that he’s going into the San Marino Grand Prix ready not just to continue working towards securing the 2021 world championship but to fight pole position man Pecco Bagnaia for the win, after a reversal in his fortunes from last weekend’s Aragon Grand Prix.
At the Spanish venue, Quartararo was put in the same position as he found himself in 12 months previously, unable to find any pace in the race and dropping back rapidly out of podium contention to eventually finish in eighth place.
Initially hinting at a faulty tyre but eventually conceding this weekend that problems with the front tyre pressure chosen by his team was the real root of the problem, it meant that he gave up valuable points to Bagnaia as the Ducati rider fought and beat Marc Marquez to take his first ever premier class victory.
But, with Quartararo finding a very different set of circumstances at Misano and looking fast all weekend (even if an uncharacteristic qualifying crash denied him a shot at the pole position eventually claimed by Bagnaia), he’s adamant now that he’ll be able to fight when the lights go out in Le Mans.
“It’s a totally different situation than from Aragon,” the Monster Energy Yamaha rider said after qualifying, in which he placed third – right behind the two factory Ducatis and right ahead of the two Pramac Ducatis.
“In Aragon, my pace was different, I was struggling much more – but here I’m feeling much more comfortable on the bike. It’s not a matter of me and Pecco, it’s a matter of me trying to do my best and then we’ll see. It’s not in my head that it’s only Pecco because I’m surrounded by many riders and we’ll see what happens after the first laps.
“The race is really long here, and let’s see what happens. But I think I have good pace with used tyres, and I’m confident that we can have a good result.
“I will push,” he further insisted when quizzed by The Race. “There are five races to go, not only one or two. I’ll push hard, but of course if I see that I’m too much on the limit then I won’t push enough to risk a crash.
“In Aragon, I pushed the maximum until the end, even just to get one more point against [Jorge] Martin at the end, but we’ll have much more possibility here to be at the front.”
But while Bagnaia is the obvious threat to Quartararo given his qualifying position, his race pace and (most importantly) where he sits in the championship, only 53 points back from the Frenchman, the biggest threat might not actually come from the Ducati rider but from the rain.
With blue skies for warm-up (and dry races in Moto3 and Moto2) but the persistent threat of rain all day at the venue on the Adriatic coast, should the potential downpour come, then it spells worry for Quartararo – and an opportunity for Bagnaia’s team-mate Jack Miller.
“I’m feeling good in both conditions and I’m relatively confident going into the race,“ admitted the Australian. “If it rains, though, I won’t be frowning.”
And even in dry conditions, Miller could be a fly in Quartararo’s ointment if he’s able to execute his secondary mission for the weekend – to play the role of teammate to Bagnaia and do everything he can to ensure that Ducati lift the 2021 MotoGP crown.
“It’s always a Jack[-oriented] race in my mind,” said Miller, “but you know, we’ll see how the race unfolds.
“On paper and in history, Pecco is probably the strongest one on the grid, so if he wants to check out I’m quite happy to sit in his wake and play blocker as much as I can.”
