A Fabio Quartararo limping when getting on his Yamaha, ultimately just as tottering as his rider. The 2021 Moto GP World Champion will contest the Dutch Grand Prix at the Assen circuit this weekend, with a fractured thumb in his left foot which occurred while jogging in Amsterdam this week.
One more episode in the difficult period that Fabio Quartararo is currently going through. Yamaha did not respond favorably to our interview request, and Thomas Maubant, his “helper” and best friend did not deign to answer our questions. Gone are the days of the prosperous period of 2021 when Fabio was never, or almost, reluctant to speak to the media. Media to which he even hid his wound at firstnot mentioned during his interview with Canal + Thursday, some time before going to radio.
Which eventually revealed a broken toe, but the rider was declared fit to ride his motorcycle. And fortunately for his morale, because Fabio Quartararo had great expectations in the Netherlands. “It’s a Grand Prix that I love, on one of my favorite circuits. We will try to give the maximum to obtain a good result”, he hoped.
Already 103 points behind Francesco Bagnaia
Good results are exactly what Fabio is missing this season. Before this eighth meeting, he only managed to get on the podium once this season, on the Austin circuit during the Grand Prix of the Americas. At the same time the previous season, he had already recorded six podiums, including three victories, to edge Francesco Bagnaia by a hundred points. Today, he is 103 behind the 2022 world champion.
“We will say that he has known better times. But as is often the case, when you have problems it is linked. Afterwards, this injury is more embarrassing than binding. A hand injury would have been more annoying,” says 20 minutes Jules Deremble, Moto GP presenter on Canal+.
More power, but less handling
His difficulties are mainly linked to that of his Yamaha, while he spent his last seasons demanding more power from the Japanese brand against the horde of Ducati. “Clearly, a lot of it comes from his bike. The other teams have made enormous progress, Ducati, of course, with its eight motorcycles, but also KTM and Aprilia,” said Jules Deremble.
And the engine changes made in the off season have finally more disturbed the way of driving Fabio Quartararo. “The quality of the Yamaha has always been the handling and the increase in speed has taken away a few things from it. It lost maneuverability when that was what allowed Fabio to become champion in 2021. This quest for power disrupted the machine, and we know that these are goldsmith’s pieces, ”adds the presenter.
If aerodynamic appendages to facilitate the maneuverability of the machines have continued to emerge on European motorcycles, Yamaha only seems to have used them since this Grand Prix of the Netherlands. And all these developments do not necessarily benefit Fabio Quartararo and his style, as entrusted by Miguel Oliveira to motorsports.com: “At this time the development of aerodynamics has had a decisive influence on motorcycles, which inevitably begin to take on a somewhat larger proportion and percentage in performance than before. With current motorcycles, it is more difficult for the rider to tell the difference. There are no riders able to overcome the capabilities of motorcycles while in this sport there has always been a symbiosis between rider and motorcycle. »
Doubts on the track, changes off
So many reasons that have gradually made Fabio Quartararo doubt. To the point of riding in the same time as his teammate Franco Morbidelli when he had always relegated him to several tenths of a second since the Italian joined Yamaha.
And off the track, too, El Diablo had to deal with upheavals. He recently announced the end of the collaboration with his lifelong agent, Eric Mahé, to create his own structure. Not enough to disturb him more than that, for Jules Deremble. “These drivers are mentally prepared from a very young age to face the pressure. They are used to mixing the sporty and the extra sporty without having any consequences on the track. Obviously that adds a bit of trouble to the equation, but I know the two characters well and they parted ways in a smart way. »
A long-awaited summer break
The best news finally comes from the calendar, and from this summer break after the five-week Dutch Grand Prix. “A very important factor at Quartararo is the notion of pleasure. He has lost this pleasure, it can be seen visually in his body language, you can see it on his face. The best thing for him is to go have fun with his friends and come back in a different state of mind,” said Jules Deremble.
It is more on this aspect that we should hope for change for Quartararo, which could even be facilitated with a good result this weekend, rather than on the evolutions of his Yamaha during the summer. “He told me that it had been three races since he had touched the settings to find this feeling”, warns Jules Deremble. From Sunday in the temple of speed that he appreciates so much?