Fabio Quartararo suffers “strange” pole to 11th slump at Australian MotoGP, “amazing feeling” for Alex Rins
Fabio Quartararo was baffled after slipping from pole to 11th in the Australian MotoGP, while Alex Rins charged to seventh for Yamaha.
After a sensational pole position, Fabio Quartararo’s Australian MotoGP deteriorated in puzzling fashion as the Monster Yamaha rider slipped to 11th in Sunday’s race.
The Frenchman blamed a medium front tyre choice for his Sprint struggles and was confident he’d be back in contention on the hard for the Grand Prix.
Instead, Quartararo was the slowest M1 rider for much of the race as he faded backwards.
"It was really strange. I didn't expect this kind of race, because I knew my pace was good,” Quartararo said.
“The feeling in the warm up [4th on the medium rear tyre] was okay, when the wind was also much stronger, but I didn't have the pace on any lap of the race.
“I don't know what happened to feel such a big difference between the race and any of the previous sessions. I could not stop the bike, I could not really carry speed.
“We still have to really check, but I never felt like that during all the weekend, even in FP1 with the medium rear I felt competitive, I felt fast. But today, I didn't feel good at all.
“We will try to understand it, but I also just want to turn over the page and try to be ready for the next round. I look forward to next week, Sepang is a track I like."
Quartararo avoided blaming the tyres directly, while team director Massimo Meregalli confirmed that Yamaha would launch an investigation.
“Fabio simply didn't have the feeling he needed today to ride at his usual level. We will thoroughly investigate what caused the sudden change in the race compared to the rest of the weekend,” Meregalli said.
On the other side of the garage, team-mate Alex Rins produced a strong comeback from 12th to seventh to finish as the top Yamaha rider, using the same hard front–medium rear tyre combination.
"It was really great - I mean, it was amazing to have this feeling,” Rins said. “I did many overtakes, like in corner 2 on the inside. It was a really great race. I had a small issue at the start, but I solved it in corner 2.
“From then until the end, I was trying to manage and trying to overtake. I was riding on the limit, and I'm quite happy and proud - P7 is a great result.
“We are continuing the progress, and this is the most important thing."
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
