Disappointed, frustrated, and bitter. These are perhaps the adjectives that best describe Fabio Quartararo’s state of mind at the end his Friday at Assen. Topping the Yamaha riders in the Dutch Pre-Qualifying timesheets with the 15th-fastest time, the 2021 World Champion failed to secure one of the spots that were up for grabs, in order to advance to the Q2, so he’ll have to start from the back of the grid again this weekend.
“I won’t comment on how the day went, but, as you can imagine, it was difficult. Why? Because of what we have at our disposal. I think the goal right now is to fight for points and try to make the most of what we have,” Quartararo replied, laconically. At the end of the session, he made no secret of his disappointment and said he’d rather talk to reporters about the French national team’s performance than about his Friday: “Of course, their performances are definitely better.”
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Quartararo is facing many problems, especially in struggling to navigate corners on the M1.
“I haven’t seen any improvement. We won’t make progress in that area. We need to improve on all fronts because we have no grip, zero steering, and zero power. I’m trying to make the most of braking, especially on the straights, because that’s the only place where I can brake hard. But I can’t get the bike to go. Like I said, scoring some points on Sunday would be great,” El Diablo reiterated.