A matter of grip. This is what Quartararo is thinking as Friday draws to a close at Barcelona, the riders forced to deal with the (lack of) grip that the Catalonian track offers. In these particular conditions, there are winners and losers, and the Frenchman appears to belong to the second group.
“There are bikes that adapt better to today’s conditions, for sure, but conditions were really not good in my opinion. When you put in fresh tyres, it’s like they’ve already done ten laps, so it’s hard to improve. We knew we’d struggle in cases with poor grip, just as we knew that Aprilia would be quick in the same conditions. I can feel I’m slow, but at the same time I also feel like I can’t go any quicker, because through some corners I open the throttle but just don’t go. I’ve ridden well, but slowly”.
Quartararo: "I hope things change between now and Sunday"
Are you optimistic ahead of the race?
“If we raced today, I’d have to limit the damage, but we know that grip on track improves as the laps go on, if it doesn’t rain, so we hope that conditions on Sunday allow me to have better pace. Aleix is a lot faster, despite his tyres also dropping as the laps go by”.
Are you worried about the duration of the tyres for the race?
“Not particularly, I’m just worried about being very slow. It’s hard to know you have the potential but can’t exploit it due to the track conditions”.
Morbidelli is closer to you now. Do you know why?
“I’m not sure. I think it’s just a matter of grip at this track, where you often have to wait a long time before opening the throttle, which mixes things up in terms of the playing field”.
Translated by Heather Watson
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