Honda driver Marquez has been unbeaten in all classes at the Sachsenring since 2010 and had the feeling before the GP weekend in Germany that he would be racing with the links layout for the first time this season “without physical limitations”.
Quartararo finished second overall on his Yamaha on Friday, a little more than two-tenths behind KTM’s Miguel Oliveira, while FP1 pacesetter Marquez finished 12th after deciding against a time attack in FP2.
Yamaha rider Quartararo doesn’t believe Marquez is stronger than he is now, joking that he wanted to make it difficult for the Honda rider as he strives for his first win since 2019, just like Marquez has been with the this season French did.
“I mean, I feel like he was super strong, but I feel the same, “Quartararo said on Friday.
“In 2019, I remember he made my life so difficult to get my first win, so I’ll try to do the same.
“But it looks like it’s super fast, the pace looks good.
“We know he’s super fast on this track and I think everyone – I’m one of the only ones who will say this – but he’s had a really tough time and I’ll be happy for him if he gets a really good result . “.
“But happy for him, not happy for us, so we have to try to get a really good result here and not get him to win.
“But that’s not what I’m here for, I’m here to fight for victory and the podium, so that’s not on my mind right now.
“But it would be a good thing [for him if he can win]. “
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Quartararo spent most of the FP2 working on the pace of the used tire with medium rubber and was able to consistently complete laps in the medium range of 1m22s.
Satisfied with its shape on used rubber, Quartararo admits that his overall feel could be improved with his Yamaha.
“It was long because my tires were done with 33 or 34 laps, but it was really long,” said the championship leader when asked by Motorsport.com about his pace with used tires.
“I haven’t really compared myself to any of the other drivers, but I feel pretty good.
“With 32 laps on the tire, I managed 1m22.5s.
“It’s this morning’s tire, so I feel pretty okay and I have a feeling that we can improve a bit because the feeling with the bike wasn’t that good today, especially up front.
“Well, we have a few ideas for tomorrow, but we’re not there yet, so I’m really excited about today.”
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing accident
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Quartararo fell in the penultimate corner in FP1 and initially looked as if he had injured his shoulder.
He says his hand was in pain from the impact and admits that he was “afraid” that he was injured at that moment.
“The hand felt sore, but it was just the impact, but okay,” he added. “Well, in FP2 I couldn’t really feel and everything was fine. At the moment I was a bit scared, but everything is fine. ”