‘Like the first time on a bike’ - Fabio Quartararo baffled by Silverstone MotoGP struggles

Fabio Quartararo was left feeling like a 'guy who jumped on a motorcycle for the first time' as he struggled to 17th place in Friday practice at the Silverstone MotoGP.

Riding at the same circuit where only a ride-height device failure denied him victory on the former Inline M1 last season, the former champion finished 0.6s behind Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller, who claimed direct Qualifying 2 access in ninth.

“Bad. Not a great feeling at all,” Quartararo began. “I'm struggling a lot to ride like I want, and I'm really tense on the bike, so not feeling good.

“This morning I had an issue with the bike, then I had to stop. But in general it's not really frustrating, but just that I'm not able to ride.

“I'm like a guy that jumped on a motorcycle for the first time. So this is how I feel. Let's try to change, but it was really a tough day for us.”

Miller’s speed provided some encouragement, but Quartararo said his main priority is to understand the M1.

“Jack was fast today, but it was not really a matter of getting to the limit. I was not able to go to the limit because I was riding in a way that looks like I was just trying to understand how the bike is working.

“So we will try to make a big change for tomorrow and try to understand why we were so bad today.

“Like I said, it looks like it was the first time I jumped on the bike and I was not able to lean, I was not able to make corner speed.

“In this track that is exactly what you need, trail braking and corner speed, and I was super slow.”

Quartararo wasn’t the only Yamaha rider to struggle, with team-mate Alex Rins 19th, Toprak Razgatlioglu 22nd and wildcard Augusto Fernandez 23rd and last.