MotoGP leader Fabio Quartararo believes his Yamaha team doesn’t have to go “crazy” with setup changes to fight for victory at the Austrian Grand Prix next weekend.
Quartararo was able to increase his lead from 34 to 40 points over Johann Zarco from Pramac Ducati thanks to a strong run to third place, as his compatriot was no better than sixth, although he ended up almost ten seconds behind the eventual winner Jorge Martin and second place Joan Mir.
The Frenchman says it is “clear” where he and Yamaha need to improve for the second Red Bull Ring competition. He admits that trying not to overheat the rear tire of his M1 is key as opposed to a setup tweak.
“I’m very happy because our pace was very good all weekend and during the race I was really happy because when you do 25 laps the race feels really long, but I managed to be focused stay and even in the race I tried one when I saw that Johann (Zarco) was behind it, ”explained Quartararo.
“I’m really happy and I think it’s pretty clear where we need to improve for next week. It’s always difficult to keep the rear tire cool during the race, so I’ll try to change my driving style a little (to help), but luckily we were still as fast as yesterday for example on 9/22 (in qualifying).
“The feeling is really good so we don’t have to go crazy with the settings, it’s more about changing my driving style and during the race I tried a lot of things that worked pretty well. So let’s hope we can do a little better next week. “
Quartararo added that a “step” his team helped him towards the final stages of the weekend with the M1 was “the key” that allowed him to be in the battle for a podium as his main weakness before improvement .
“I managed to improve Turn 3 (compared to the beginning of the weekend) when we took a step on the bike and that was also the key to the battle for the podium as the team found something really great” Quartararo continued.
“Joan (Mir) is always very fast here, he pulled away with Jorge (Martin) that early, but for me this is a track that I always have a bit of problems with, so she (Ducatis) is behind me and listening that she t ideal.
“The move on Jack (Miller) was good, I braked very late and managed not to miss the apex, we had a nice fight and both went to the limit.”