Quartararo lacking rear feeling in the wet; ‘I have no confidence’

Fabio Quartararo endured another tough wet FP2 session at the Austrian MotoGP as a lack of confidence is holding the Frenchman back. 

Quartararo was his usual fast and consistent self in the dry FP1 session, however, when the rain fell shortly before FP2, things got more problematic for the Yamaha rider. 

Quartararo ultimately finished ninth as the track considerably dried out, but when it was full wet conditions, the championship leader was outside the top ten. 

Quartararo said: “Today was not the best, because my feeling in the morning was great in the dry condition, but still in the wet, I have no confidence. 

“We have a problem that we can't fix, and we will try something really, really different to try to find if there is an improvement. 

“In the wet I don't feel good, and then at the end. I could make something to go into eighth position at the end but the feeling is not great.” 

The exact problem that Quartararo is suffering from is related to rear grip feeling aboard the M1 Yamaha. 

"It's rear feeling, I have no grip going into the corner, no confidence to make corner speed and we know that in the wet, the corner speed is so important," added Quartararo. 

"From straight to the lean angle is a horrible feeling. So we need to improve that, to be faster in the wet."

At one stage, it looked like a session that could be void of all track action due to the hail falling moments before FP2 began. 

Given the safety concerns around the Red Bull Ring that many riders have, conditions similar to what we saw today on race day would pose various issues. 

Asked if the race should be postponed if we see similar weather on Sunday, Quartararo said: "No. I tried it in Japan 2019, when it was really really wet, and I liked it. When it's full wet I prefer it than if it is strange conditions, when it's drying up. 

"If it needs to rain, I like to race when it's full rain. I think it's much more fun. It depends on the condition of the track of course, because we know Turn 2 is quite a dangerous place. 

"But to have the race in the full rain and in wet track condition is not a problem and I prefer that to half and half condition."