Thursday will offer up a first opportunity for reigning World Champion Fabio Quartararo to speak to the press since his disastrous Thai GP. The Monster Energy Yamaha rider skipped media duties post-race, with a post on Instagram the following Tuesday the only response he has offered up since then.
A wet race saw Quartararo come home P17 to record a Buriram blank, and allowed Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) to close the gap to just two points with three rounds to go. The Frenchman described it as a “nightmare” performance on Instagram, which was his latest post to date before he went on to remove his profile picture from the social media platform, while also implying he will take time away from the platform, stating in his bio that he is “having a break.”
Quartararo will take to the stage on Thursday evening at Phillip Island, where he will come face-to-face with Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) as the three riders at the forefront of the Championship battle preview the weekend. That is set to get underway at 17:00 local time, and you can check out the full schedule here.