Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) will start from his fourth consecutive front row start after qualifying in P2 for the HJC Helmets Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, despite an injury scare coming at the end of FP3 when getting out of shape coming down ‘The Waterfall’ section at the Sachsenring.
It was confirmed after medical checks that Quartararo had suffered a subluxation of the left shoulder, which is when the shoulder goes out of place but goes back in again. It’s an injury that has happened to the Frenchman twice before and despite the pain, coupled with his ongoing arm pump recovery, the 20-year-old was able to complete FP4 and Q2 without any real worries.
“Well today has been, let’s say, a strange day because this morning was really positive, but we had a big moment,” began Quartararo. “This afternoon the goal was to be on the front two rows, so we reached our goals with second position. So, I’m really happy with the job we did today. I hope to keep a little bit more for the race.”
Along with Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales, Quartararo has looked like the only rider who could potentially challenge Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) at the Championship leader’s fortress this weekend. After the FP3 moment, it was feared his German GP could have been over but after qualifying in P2, there is no doubt the Yamaha rider will be going all out to grab a third consecutive podium finish on Sunday.
“We were with a new tyre in the beginning [of FP3] and in the fourth lap I was still going full gas, at this time there was less grip because the soft is dropping off really fast,” continued Quartararo, explaining his wobble at the end of FP3. “It was 250km/h, I think, I had a big moment, but it was my mistake, I was too optimistic. Tomorrow we will need to take care of the tyres more.
“On track it was good, it was a little bit painful, of course, but when you’re riding, you’re thinking about other things than the pain. Now I’m quite balanced because I have the left and the right. So, I’m happy about the job we did today given what we had this morning.”
Marquez and Viñales were the men to beat when it came to race pace showings in FP4, so how is the rookie sensation feeling ahead of a gruelling 30-lap race?
“For sure it will be a tough race. Here is the only track where we do 30 laps and it’s a lot of left corners, which isn’t the best for the muscle. But we’ve never been strong here and this year we’re going quite well. The pace is good, tomorrow we’ll take some medication for the pain and we’ll be ready to go.”
Both the Yamahas will be hoping to get the launch off the line and get past Marquez into Turn 1. Find out if Quartararo can take it to the seven-time Champion when the lights go out at 14:00 local time (GMT+2).