Fabio Quartararo can’t finish higher than fifth in Misano and loses more points to Francesco Bagnaia – Yamaha M1 “at the limit “
While Francesco Bagnaia celebrated his fourth MotoGP victory in a row, World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo was no better than fifth in the San Marino Grand Prix. In the overall standings, the Yamaha rider lost further points to Bagnaia. He is now 30 points behind as the closest rider in the standings.
Quartararo already knew after qualifying that the race would be a tough one for him. The Frenchman did not manage more than eighth place on the grid.
In the race itself, he was initially unable to make up any positions under his own steam. However, the early crashes of Jack Miller (Ducati) and Marco Bezzecchi (VR46-Ducati) pushed him up to sixth place. Quartararo was then able to pass Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) on lap five to take over fifth.
Quartararo: Overtaking was simply impossible
There the World Champion stayed for the rest of the race. “That was the limit today,” he records, admitting, “In fact, I was more than angry. I was really frustrated. I know I gave my 100 per cent but I couldn’t fight for more.”
“We need to check why that was. My pace was very similar to what I had in the practices. I felt my pace was normal. But to overtake or ride like the others was just impossible,” Quartararo addressed the familiar problems on his Yamaha M1.
“Overall the feeling on the bike was quite good, but that’s the problem. I’m not bad, but it’s just fifth place,” said the Frenchman, who was resentful of the result.
Only passing Espargaro under his own steam
In the closing stages Quartararo was able to close the gap on Luca Marini (VR46-Ducati), who finished fourth. But it was not enough for an attack: “I was always at the limit. Once I had to leave the line in turn 10. I got closer to Marini again, but I was riding with the knife between my teeth.”
“Even when I was behind Marini: trying to overtake him was not possible,” affirmed the Yamaha rider. Would more have been possible with a better starting position? “Yes, it all depends on where we start from and how well we can overtake. “
The two title combatants switch places! @FabioQ20 takes advantage of a mistake from @AleixEspargaro ⚔️SanMarinoGP pic. twitter.com/jOdMcz1dMg
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) September 4, 2022
“I was able to overtake Aleix because I saw that he had problems too. But with the others I couldn’t even try. Of course that frustrates me because I can’t do anything and I can’t enjoy it like I usually do,” stressed the World Championship leader.
61 points lost to Bagnaia in four races
When asked about Bagnaia’s catch-up, he says: “I wouldn’t say I’m worried. But I’m not calm either. For me, I rode a really good race today, but it’s only fifth place, five seconds behind the top. So we are not in a great situation.”
“My consistency was better than Pecco’s, but in terms of speed we are just slow,” he compared to his Ducati rival. As recently as Sachsenring, Bagnaia was 91 points behind Quartararo after his fourth retirement of the season instead of 91. So in the last four races he made up 61 points.
When asked if he can still make the difference in the fight for the title or if he now has to hope for his rivals’ mistakes, Quartararo replied, “To make the difference, I think I’m already doing a pretty good job.”
“I’m riding on the limit, I have a great pace, but it’s not enough. But that’s all the difference I can make. Today we reached the limit of our bike.”
Looking ahead to the next Grand Prix in a fortnight’ time at Aragon, Quartararo is under no illusions. “Aragon will be tough,” he predicts, “but then come Japan, Thailand, Australia. We haven’t ridden there for a while. Hopefully we can cause a positive surprise there. “
