Aside from the all-conquering Marc Marquez, Fabio Quartararo has been a revelation in MotoGP this season — and the rookie has detailed just how much of a standout he has been.
The 20-year-old Frenchman scored his sixth podium of 2019 in Motegi on Sunday, and was the closest any rider got to Marquez on Sunday.
At the surface, Quartararo is the closest any rider has been to Marquez of late, with the dominant Spaniard defying his younger rival at the death in three of the last four Grands Prix.
Live stream the 2019 MotoGP World Championship on KAYO SPORTS. Every practice, qualifying & race live & anytime in HD. Get your 14 day free trial >
Marquez claims Japan GP win
1:40READ MORE
‘Survival mode’: On for a podium, things quickly fell apart for Miller
Legend status: Marquez draws level with Aussie great after Japan victory
Wow factor: The ‘rodeo’ save that has to be seen to be believed
124 starts, 62 poles: Marquez juggernaut rolls on in Japan
Many believe Quartararo can be Marquez’s greatest challenger for the crown for years to come — and Marquez has responded in kind, showing great respect for his junior rival at every turn.
Quartararo has come from the heavens — in four seasons across Moto3 and Moto2 between 2015 and 2018, he managed just one win, and a best season finish of 10th twice.
While stung by the narrow defeats to Marquez in Misano, Buriram and Motegi, Quartararo knows he is close to a maiden MotoGP win — and revealed he has doubled the points tally outlined by his Petronas Yamaha SRT squad at the beginning of the season.
In finishing second on Sunday, Quartararo not only secured the Rookie of the Year title, but is now just 13 points off P3 in the standings.
Through 16 races, he has scored 163 points — the team initially thought he wouldn’t even crack the triple-figure mark.
“In Malaysia test we set a goal, was to score between 50 and 90 points, and be rookie [of the year],” he said.
“[The points tally] is much higher than what I expected. I’m really happy for the team because it’s our first year … my first year in MotoGP, but also the first year for the team.”
The Misano result in September saw Quartararo lead most of the race, only to see a ruthless Marquez waltz past for the win.
It was even closer between the duo in Thailand as Quartararo made a final-corner, final-lap pass — only for Marquez to defy the block pass attempt and grab the win.
In Japan, it was much more secure for the world champion, but Quartararo — despite admitting Marquez was “faster” — took the time to adapt to the race around him, which also saw the youngster fend off Andrea Dovizioso’s charging Ducati for P2.
Four poles, six podiums, no win — yet — but the rookie is quickly learning how to manage races, even if he isn’t the best rider on the day.
“Marc’s pace was faster than us this weekend, but I analysed some lines [for] what we missed, and I think for saving the tyres it helped me a lot,” he said, having topped Friday practice.
“Like corner one, during the qualifying, practice, I was carrying much more speed, and in the first corner I was going wide.
“I was doing the same line as [Marquez in the race] and I think [this] helped us quite a lot to save the tyre.
“I wasn’t close enough to see exactly what we missed, but it’s true that acceleration, also with used tyre, we struggle a lot, so that’s an important point to improve.
“Again a race that we learned to manage the tyre, even if at the end we struggled, we managed to get good lap times in another way, and I think that’s something that we learned mainly here.”
Marquez's stunning save!
1:16https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsport/moto-gp/motogp-rookie-star-fabio-quartararo-leaves-teams-preset-goal-for-dead/news-story/17e641d1e719e32bc91653d286246e58
2019-10-21 02:24:00Z
0
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "MotoGP rookie star Fabio Quartararo leaves team’s pre-set goal for dead - Fox Sports"
Post a Comment