Quartararo admits Marquez’s crashes and struggles “had a great impact on me"

Fabio Quartararo has identified the German MotoGP, where Marc Marquez so badly struggled, as a key moment of understanding his own issues.

James Dielhenn

26 Aug 2023

Fabio Quartararo, MotoGP race, Austrian MotoGP, 20 August

Japanese manufacturers Yamaha and Honda have slipped badly behind their European counterparts, despite boasting 2019 champion Marquez and 2021 champion Quartararo.

At the Sachsenring, so often a favourite of Marquez’s, he fell five times before the grand prix and withdrew just hours before, one of his bleakest moments in MotoGP.

"For me, a race that had a great impact on me was the Sachsenring, especially the Sprint Race,” Quartararo said to DAZN.

“I take the example of Marc because for me he is the reference of motorcycling.

"At Sachsenring he won all the races that he has [entered], and this year in the Sprint he is ninth and tenth.

“I don't think he has forgotten to ride in one year.

“You see that many times the bike is much more important than the rider.”

Quartararo compared the Yamaha to the Honda: "We have some worse points and some better points.

"How our bike reacts is not as aggressive as the Honda.

“Each one has its points, but right now there are many things that make it difficult for us to fight for the front positions."

Fabio Quartararo, MotoGP, Austrian MotoGP, 19 August

Quartararo only missed out on a second consecutive MotoGP title at the final round of 2022, but realistically Yamaha’s decline behind the Ducati started a year ago.

The gap has dramatically widened this year.

"I have not reacted quickly enough to change as a rider,” Quartararo said.

“The bike we have right now is not to win, but I mentally wanted to win.

"In the end, when you are already at 100%, you want to give more.

“This first part [of the season] I should have learned a lot more than I have learned, which has been nothing.

"I should have learned from my mistakes, from the experience that we have to gain in difficult moments.

“I want to change this second part, I want to give my 100% without really looking at the result.”

Quartararo has already insisted that the Misano test, where Yamaha can debut their 2024 plans, will give him the evidence he needs to plot his long-term future.