Fabio Quartararo explains “not super nice” Valencia MotoGP Friday
Fabio Quartararo wasn’t happy with his Friday at the Valencia MotoGP
Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo labelled his Friday at the MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix as “not super nice”, after “struggling a lot to find my feeling” on the M1.
The Japanese manufacturer is facing what is likely to be its last MotoGP weekend with its inline-four bike, as it pushes ahead with its V4 project for 2026.
The bike performed solidly on Friday, with Pramac’s Jack Miller topping FP1, and then ending Practice inside the top six to secure a direct Q2 place.
Fabio Quartararo has also gained entry to Q2 after Friday’s running, but only scraped through in 10th as he struggled with a lack of front-end feeling on his bike.
“Not super nice,” he said when asked about his Friday.
“I was struggling a lot to find my feeling, to find a front, which is our strong point, but during the day I didn’t have any feeling.
“So, we changed a few things, but I couldn’t find anything.
“So, hopefully tomorrow we can make a step, because even on one lap I am not confident and we are far away.”
During the Portugal weekend, Quartararo spoke about having to take power out of his Yamaha as it was proving too aggressive on throttle delivery.
But he says this isn’t the issue thwarting him currently at Valencia, with the base set-up of the bike “not clear”.
“Not really, because now it’s just on the brakes, where actually we know our bike, on the braking, we are using the front a lot,” he added.
“But Turn 1, I’m almost riding in the wet. I’m just breaking, trying to do my best, but unfortunately, it’s not the same issue as Portugal.
“Looks like our base in the last two races was not clear, but we are trying to figure out what to do.”
At one point during Practice, Quartararo stopped at Turn 1 after his bike started smoking on the pit straight.
He didn’t explain what the problem with his M1 was, but noted that the fluid pouring onto him was fuel.
“Yes, fuel. I had to change my leathers. I didn’t want to burn in the straight, so I decided to change my leathers,” he joked.
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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.
