"No grip and super heavy" - Yamaha back in MotoGP top ten despite Fabio Quartararo pain

Fabio Quartararo took his best MotoGP finish since Catalunya with eighth place at Assen on Sunday.

The Monster Yamaha rider described it as a “long, physical, not really enjoyable” race, during which he also suffered from arm pump.

Quartararo estimated the arm pain cost him several seconds, but did not change the outcome.

“I think we maximised our performance with the result we did today,” Quartararo said. 

“I'm not feeling great at the moment with the bike, especially in the race. So, I think we can be happy with what we achieved.

“For at least the last 10 laps, I suffered arm pump on the right.”

KTM’s Pedro Acosta notably retired due to similar carpal tunnel issues in his right wrist and will undergo surgery.

"No grip and super heavy"

Quartararo, meanwhile, has already undergone several operations for arm pump.

The 2021 world champion put the recurrence down to the combination of Assen's fast, flowing layout and Yamaha's “super heavy” V4.

“Three times,” he said when asked how many arm pump operations he has undergone.

 “But this track is really physical and especially our bike that has no grip and that is super heavy, I struggle a bit more.

“But I still kept the best position we could. Because Marc finished seventh, and he was 10 seconds ahead. 

"Maybe I could be two or three seconds faster, but I was not going to be seventh!”

Team-mate Alex Rins finished just behind Quartararo for a double Yamaha top ten.