Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Fabio Quartararo underwent successful right forearm compartment syndrome surgery on Tuesday 4th June this week in Barcelona, less than two weeks before Round 7 kicks off at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The rookie revelation spoke to motogp.com about his desire to be back at one of his favourite tracks on the calendar, while also explaining how the issue came about and why he underwent surgery now, not during the summer break.
“I've had a few early warnings before, whether it was in Qatar, Austin or Le Mans, but nothing really bad,” began Quartararo. “At Mugello, unfortunately, I had a small problem with the pressure of the front tyre, which forced me to try a lot from the beginning. From mid-race, the pains were accentuated and it is precisely at this moment that I started to tumble in the standings. After the race, we decided to make a detour to Barcelona to consult Dr. Mir and his verdict was clear: sooner or later, it was necessary to operate!
“Montmelo, Assen, Sachsenring... we know that these are rather demanding tracks on a physical level, so we thought it was the right time to do that,” continued the 20-year-old, confirming why the decision was made to operate sooner rather than later, with Barcelona and Assen tracks he rose to the fore at last season in the Moto2™ class.
“It will be necessary to recover well and as soon as possible, in view of the next Grand Prix which is held in just two weeks in Montmelo,” a track he won so convincingly at last season. “Last year, I secured my first pole in Moto2™ and then my first victory! This track is one of my favourite on the calendar, so yes, it's an extra motivation to come back even stronger!”