Doha Grand Prix winner Fabio Quartararo believes the “aggressive” way he had to fight back to win the race will change his approach to racing in the future.
Quartararo dropped to ninth in the early stages of the second event at the Losail International Circuit after he and his teammate Maverick Vinales again suffered slow starts on their Yamaha M1s.
The French fought back in the second half of the encounter to challenge Pramac Ducati pair Johann Zarco and Pole man Jorge Martin at the sharp end. Quartararo eventually prevailed after taking strong steps to consolidate his place at the top and eventually take the lead with the checkered flag 1.5 seconds ahead of Zarco.
Quartararo says the “aggressive” way in which he had to overtake the Ducati in order to build a gap off the main straight enough to defend himself against the Desmosedici’s power advantage gave him “great experience” for future races.
“I did a lot of moves during the race that I can’t remember, but it was pretty close with Jorge (Martin) because I hit his leg. It was a pretty difficult moment for him and for Johann (Zarco) Turn 10 but you have to be aggressive, ”Quartararo told BT Sport after the Doha GP.
“It felt great (to make moves) and it changed my way of thinking about the future a lot. So it’s great to have that kind of experience.”
The now four-time premier class winner added that his first win for the factory Yamaha squad on his second start in the organization was a “big moment in my career” and said that after a whole he said he was the “special” for his team “Month of success owes its work to Qatar for the first double headed ball of the year.
“It’s so special to be honest,” continued Quartararo.
“It felt great on the podium. I felt I had the potential to win the race but I wasn’t scared but thought I had better go forward because there were four Ducati’s in front of me so I decided to give the best I could and the opportunity was there for me to win the race.
“This is a big moment in my career, my first win for the Yamaha factory. It’s a great day for the team and for me.
“I felt like I had to give my team a good excuse to stay here after more than a month here in Qatar. That’s why I owe my win to my entire team.”