The start of the 2024 season has been tough for Yamaha, but they still managed to sign 2021 champion Quartararo for two more years.
At the Jerez track, Quartararo did well in a shorter race called the sprint, finishing third even after a penalty. But in the longer main race, he struggled and only got one point.
His problems were mostly because the Yamaha bike wasn’t good at turning, which made his arm hurt during the race.
Quartararo said, “I made a great start, but I couldn’t move up in the main race. The bike didn’t grip well, and I had to force it to turn, which hurt my arm. So, I had to slow down towards the end of the race.”
This isn’t the first time Quartararo has had arm problems. In 2021, he lost a race because of it and had to have surgery.
He said he’s not surprised it happened again because the bike has been causing some arm pain in other races this year too.
Quartararo mentioned that the problems with the Yamaha bike, especially with turning and grip, are worse at the Jerez track.
He said, “When you feel good on the bike, everything is fine. But when you’re struggling, the arm pain comes back. This track is tough for us because we’re not good at turning and grip here. But I hope the next race will be better.”
