Quartararo had a good weekend at Le Mans, his home track, despite riding a not-so-great Yamaha bike. He qualified eighth and was fighting well in the race, staying in the top eight.
During the race, he was doing really well, even battling with riders he used to compete with, like Aleix Espargaro. He was catching up to Maverick Vinales and Marc Marquez, but unfortunately, he crashed ten laps before the end. Still, he felt happy about his performance, saying it was the first race this year where he felt competitive and was fighting with familiar faces.
Yamaha made some changes to Quartararo’s bike before the race, expecting him to feel a big difference. But Quartararo only noticed a small improvement, although it was enough to make a positive impact. He thinks this new setup might become the base for his bike in future races.
He mentioned that the bike had a bit more grip, especially when turning, but there are still things to improve, like the electronics settings. Quartararo feels they’re making progress step by step, even though the bike feels heavy and isn’t turning as well as they’d like.
For Quartararo, being able to fight at the front again was a big boost mentally. He felt frustrated about not finishing the race but was happy to see himself competing with top riders. He compared it to his previous sprint podium in Jerez, where some riders crashed, but this time, his performance was based on genuine pace.
He believes they’re improving slowly but steadily and that there’s still a long way to go in the season.
