After the Portimao sprint on Saturday, Fabio Quartararo suffers a calf strain – the muscle injury worsened during Monday’s test
Fabio Quartararo suffered an injury during the Portuguese Grand Prix. When he returned to the Yamaha truck on Saturday evening after the sprint from his interviews, he pulled a muscle in his right calf
On Sunday, the Frenchman didn’t let it show. He finished the Grand Prix in seventh place and did not comment on the calf problems afterwards. Yamaha then planned a private test with the two regular riders in Portimao on Monday.
Although it was said in advance that there were “many parts” to be evaluated, including further developed aerodynamics, it ultimately turned out to be a less productive day due to the conditions.
The track was too dirty. “The worst conditions for a test,” wrote Quartararo in an Instagram post. “Only six laps … see you in the USA.” Team-mate Rins also only completed a few laps due to the weather.
Test rider Cal Crutchlow was not scheduled for this test and was therefore not on site. Yamaha generally plans to add a private test day to most European races on Monday. In Jerez, Mugello and Misano there are official test days for everyone on Monday.
On Tuesday, Quartararo was due to take part in a presentation in his home country for the French Grand Prix, which takes place in Le Mans in mid-May. However, he canceled this appointment at short notice.
During this press conference, a short video message from the former world champion was played. In it, Quartararo said about his calf strain: “It got worse during the test, so we will do more detailed examinations.”
Yamaha has confirmed that he did not crash during the few laps of Monday’s test. However, he is said to have caught a highsider on the dirty track, which aggravated the calf strain.
As a result, Quartararo struggled to stand for several minutes and therefore had to cancel the appointment in France. Instead, he made his way to Barcelona to be examined in detail by doctor Xavier Mir.
Nevertheless, Quartararo is optimistic, as he noted in his video message: “I will be in good shape in Austin.” He has time to recover, as the break between Portugal and the guest appearance in the USA (April 12-14) is three weeks
