Jerez the first time ‘I felt comfortable and fast on MotoGP bike’ - Quartararo

Fabio Quartararo heads to round four of the 2021 MotoGP season as championship leader and with the possibility of winning his third consecutive race, which would be a first for the Frenchman. 

And what better venue than Jerez for that to potentially happen, as he claimed victory both times in Andalusia last year. 

Speaking in the pre event press conference, Quartararo said: "Yeah I’m feeling pretty excited. First of all, because I love this track and I’m feeling great on the bike and in the team. 

"I’m just thinking about working in the same way from Qatar and not thinking about last year winning both races here.”

"We saw Miguel [Oliveira] who won last year in Portimao, but then had some struggles (this year), so I just want to continue working and be ready for Sunday."

One thing to keep in mind are the conditions heading into this weekend compared to last year. 

With the 2020 season opener having been delayed until late July due to the COVID-19 pandemic, temperatures were much hotter than we typically see at Jerez. 

This could have an effect come Sunday and which bikes adapt the best. Quartararo added: "Now it is in a totally different way than last year, but my approach is the same. 2019 was more or less the same situation, same date, and we did great. 

"We had our first pole position and we were second before I had an issue on the bike, but it was the first time that I felt comfortable and fast on a MotoGP bike." 

With Jerez familiar to pretty much every rider on the grid, it’s a circuit where individuals can make the difference, something the 22 year-old mentioned, but didn’t dwell on as he instead is aiming to just run their normal ‘plan’.

Quartararo said: "A lot of riders can make a big difference (here), but even so, my approach is the same as Portimao, same as Qatar, which is to just make our plan. And after Sunday warm up we will see where we are and what position we are in."