Excellent series for Yamaha since the start of the season, this time with Fabio Quartararo.
Fabio Quartararo dominates the TISSOT Grand Prix of Doha.
The TISSOT Doha Grand Prix was held over the weekend and it was Fabio Quartararo of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP who caused a sensation at the end of the race. The Frenchman has made a clean win for Yamaha so far, leading the first French 1-2 in the premier class. Compatriot Johann Zarco from Pramac Racing finished second when he dueled with his rookie team-mate and pole sitter Jorge Martin. Zarco made history for his nation and beckons in the overall standings when he takes the championship lead. Martin, meanwhile, is making waves of his own as the rookie led much of the race from a spectacular start and only came home third the second time for his first podium in the premier class. B.
Yamaha teammate Maverick Viñales was also in the running for a podium. A small evasive action in the final stages had only missed him on a podium by 0.6 seconds, but he scored solid 11 points in fifth.
The win puts Quartararo and Viñales in second and third place in the championship standings, both with a total of 36 points. Yamaha and the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team remain in first place after Round 2 with a total of 50 and 72 points respectively.
The MotoGP paddock will next travel to Portugal for the third round of the MotoGP 2021 season. The Grande Prémio de Portugal will take place from April 16 to 18, 2021 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha Team) – How it happened
“I have no words. This race win is different from the previous three MotoGP races I’ve won so far. After the last race I was a little disappointed with myself. During this race it was completely different. I thought so well that I’ve played a lot with the map and the tires, nine or ten laps to the end I thought, “Now is the time to show our potential.” It’s great to be in first place!
I was so happy with the FP4 because I felt like I was the only driver who only drove high laps of 1’54s. So we made a plan, but the team also told me to play it by my gut feeling and I did really well today. I felt so good When I passed Zarco, I passed Martin immediately. I was so scared when I hit the rubble on the track. I thought ‘No flat tire please!’ Because it made a bad noise. My last lap didn’t feel as fast as the previous ones, but it was enough for the win. Singing the French anthem with Zarco today was the best moment I’ve ever had. “
Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha Team) – How it happened
“The race didn’t go as expected, but I’m still very happy because in the end this is a positive result. In the beginning I worked a lot with the tires so that I could get stronger in the end. It paid off because in the end I was very strong, especially the rear grip was good. I just wish we had done five more laps. We’ll try to come back stronger. I know we need to improve a few areas, mainly my driving style.
The most important thing is that the bike has great potential and we have shown that over the last ten laps. I tried to overtake every lap and get stronger. We tried and overall it was a positive day, even if the results didn’t show our real potential for race 2 in Qatar. Still, I think fifth place is a nice result and I fought back with everything I had. “
