Fabio Quartararo acknowledged that finishing eighth was the best he could manage at Sunday’s Japanese MotoGP race, reflecting on the challenges he faced. Despite a strong start and a promising qualification, the Monster Yamaha rider struggled to maintain pace amid tough competition, demonstrating the difficulties impacting his MotoGP performance.
Strong Start Fades Amid Intense Competition
Quartararo began the race after securing fifth place in qualifying and finishing sixth in the Sprint event. At the start of the main race, he aggressively overtook Honda’s Joan Mir, who would later secure a podium finish, moving up to fourth early on. However, pushing at the limit led to a mistake where Quartararo ran wide, dropping him to ninth within a lap. He then stayed in that position until Pedro Acosta experienced an incident off track with five laps remaining, which shifted Quartararo back up to eighth.
Rider Focuses on Personal Improvement Amid Machine Limitations
The French rider described the result as the best achievable given current circumstances, admitting the grip levels made it impossible to keep up with the leading group without errors.
“But as a rider I think that I made all the race in my pace. My number one goal now is to work on myself, and try to improve as a rider, and I think that this race I was good, but we know how hard it is to be fast compared to all of them.”
?Fabio Quartararo, Rider
With Yamaha shifting development focus towards the new V4 engine, the existing M1 bike is unlikely to receive significant upgrades this season. Quartararo remains hopeful of a better performance at the next venue in Mandalika, Indonesia.
“I think that Indonesia can be a track where maybe we can make something good,”
he said.
He tempered expectations but expressed optimism about both qualifying and race conditions.
“Really good doesn’t mean fight for much better, but I think if I had to choose one track it would be this one.”
?Fabio Quartararo, Rider
Yamaha Faces Challenges While Rivals Gain Ground
Since Quartararo’s win in Jerez, Yamaha has struggled to reach the podium, while Honda returned there with Joan Mir’s third-place finish in Japan. Quartararo sees the variety of manufacturers challenging at the front as positive for the championship but acknowledges the need for progress.
“I think that it’s great for the championship to see different manufacturers on the podium. And yeah, we just have to make some steps,”
he commented.
In terms of performance, Quartararo finished approximately 21 seconds behind Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia, who won the race. The closest Yamaha competitor after Quartararo was Pramac’s Miguel Oliveira, finishing ninth seconds behind Quartararo in 14th place. Quartararo’s time also showed improvement over his twelfth-place finish at Motegi the previous season, running 12 seconds faster this time around.
Looking Ahead to Upcoming Race in Indonesia
Quartararo’s focus now turns to the upcoming race in Mandalika, where he and Yamaha hope to improve results despite ongoing challenges. His commitment to refining his skills and adapting to race conditions underscores his determination to enhance his MotoGP performance as the season progresses.
