Fabio Quartararo’s “great” Portimao Sprint: “Harder braking, lower power”

Fabio Quartararo pulled off another comeback on Saturday at the Portimao MotoGP, transforming a difficult Friday into a front-row qualifying and fourth place in the Sprint.

13th on day one, Quartararo fought through Qualifying 1 to secure third on the grid, then held fourth from start to finish in the Sprint.

The Frenchman was unable to match the pace of race winner Alex Marquez, pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi, or runner-up Pedro Acosta.

Nonetheless, he managed his tyres perfectly to keep the chasing factory Ducatis of Francesco Bagnaia and then Fabio di Giannantonio behind.

“I’m happy because yesterday was a really tough day. We turned it around in qualifying and especially the Sprint, and achieved a great race,” said Quartararo.

A switch to the hard front tyre proved key for his braking performance.

“I'm a hard braker, and I wanted more support on the front to be able to brake a bit harder,” he said.

Meanwhile, reducing engine output in some corners helped to stabilise the M1's handling and aid tyre life.

“Sometimes we want to increase power in some corners, but our bike doesn't accept it. It just shakes and spins. So we lowered the power, and I think tomorrow will be another step like that,” he explained.

“My pace was good from the first lap, but the three guys in front were faster. I was pushing myself to the maximum whilst also nursing the tyres.

“We did feel a bit of a drop, but I saw that Pecco was 1s behind me and then Diggia was 0.8s, so I pushed more on the last laps and could maintain the same gap.”

Although five seconds behind race winner Alex Marquez, Quartararo finished nearly nine seconds ahead of Jack Miller, the next-best Yamaha in 11th.

Team director Massimo Meregalli said: “Fabio delivered an impressive turnaround, advancing through Q1 to secure third on the grid and then pushing hard for a strong fourth-place finish.

“It’s a testament to his determination and ability to perform when it matters most.”