A 1:54.908 on Day 2 at the Qatar Test left Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SIC) P3 on the timesheets, 0.315 off Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in P1 and 0.258 off fellow Yamaha rider Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).
It was another super impressive day for the 19-year-old MotoGP™ rookie as Quartararo pocketed 54 additional laps on board his YZR-M1. And the Frenchman was more than happy when reflecting his day:
“Well today has been a really positive day because we learn many things on the bike I reached a good pace with all tyres and we made a big step on the time attack,” said Quartararo. “This is the first time I exit the pit and say ‘ok, today I need to make the lap time and let’s see what happens if I crash or not.’ Hopefully we can keep this up during the season, I’m happy about the way I managed to make my fastest lap time.”
So, what’s on the agenda for the number 20 tomorrow? “We need to check a little bit with the team because I haven’t spoken to them yet, but for sure we will try to make a long run, to see the tyres, if it’s ok or not. And yes, for sure we will try another time attack.”
Quartararo now has one test day left before he’ll head out on track for FP1 in Qatar on 8th March. What are his thoughts on his new MotoGP™ machine?
“Well for sure it’s incredible, for sure the power on the straight, I think we reached nearly 340(kph) which is quite impressive. Also the braking, the (braking) point is quite close to the corner. I was really enjoying my bike today and thanks to my team.”
Don’t forget to keep up with the final day of the Qatar Test with Live Timing on motogp.com, which kicks off at 16:00 local time (GMT +3), as well as tuning into a live After the Flag episode which kicks off at 21:30 local time.