Quartararo in “half pain” but ready for Malaysian MotoGP

Fabio Quartararo has confirmed he’s fit for his Petronas Yamaha team’s home round at Sepang as he targets a return to form at the Malaysian MotoGP.

The MotoGP rookie of the year endured two painful crashes at Phillip Island last weekend, suffering a haematoma on his left ankle in his FP1 off before being unscathed when he was taken out by a high-siding Danilo Petrucci during the race, and has been focused on his recovery in the tight turnaround between the Australian and Malaysian rounds.

Quartararo in “half pain” but ready for Malaysian MotoGP

Fabio Quartararo has confirmed he’s fit for his Petronas Yamaha team’s home round at Sepang as he targets a return to form at the Malaysian MotoGP.

The MotoGP rookie of the year endured two painful crashes at Phillip Island last weekend, suffering a haematoma on his left ankle in his FP1 off before being unscathed when he was taken out by a high-siding Danilo Petrucci during the race, and has been focused on his recovery in the tight turnaround between the Australian and Malaysian rounds.

Speaking during the pre-event press conference at Sepang, Quartararo is confident the injuries sustained in Australia won’t impact his performance for Petronas Yamaha as both he and the team prepare for their maiden Sepang race since stepping up to the premier class at the start of this season.

“I am feeling better, for sure it is still half pain but when you are on the bike you have a lot things to think about other than the foot,” Quartararo said. “It will be a really important weekend for us with a lot of expectation on the team as it is their home GP so we will give our best to try to make them proud.

“I’ve been resting. We did some recovery exercises and some other stuff to recover but it is not a big injury. Just a little bit painful, I can’t run or walk normal so there was no big training this weekend.”

Quartararo can seal the MotoGP Independent riders’ title this weekend in Malaysia if he outscores Jack Miller by more than three points and doesn’t concede more than four points to Cal Crutchlow.

The French rider is also optimistic he can lean on his previous experience at Sepang in MotoGP from the pre-season test back in February having also impressed at races earlier this season where he had gained vital testing time.

“I think all the tracks that we have tested at made it an advantage,” he said. “We checked the data from the test and the bike is totally different. Electronics and the power.

“It will be helpful as I know a little bit how the bike is here in the corners and also as a reference. It will be good for us as we know in Qatar we had the test and went quite fast from FP1 and also in Misano so we hope to do the same at this track and hope the conditions will stay dry.”

Miguel Oliveira will assess his fitness in FP1 as he battles hand and shoulder injuries for Red Bull KTM Tech3, while Tito Rabat is suffering with pain in his right hand which has seen him already withdraw from the Sepang round for Avintia Ducati who will not field a replacement rider. Johann Zarco is standing in for Takaaki Nakagami at LCR Honda with the Japanese rider undergoing shoulder surgery which has ruled him out of the rest of the season.

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