Fabio Quartararo survived another tough, wet FP2 session at the Austrian MotoGP due to a lack of self-confidence holding the French back.
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Quartararo was fast and consistent as usual in the dry FP1 session, but when the rain fell just before FP2 it got tougher for the Yamaha rider.
Quartararo ended up ninth as the track dried out significantly, but in wet conditions the championship leader was outside the top ten.
Quartararo said: “Today was not the best, because my feeling in the morning was great when dry, but I have no confidence when it is wet.
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“We have a problem that we can’t fix, and we’re going to try something very, very different to find an improvement.
“When it is wet, I don’t feel good, and then at the end. I could do something to finish eighth, but the feeling is not that great. ”
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The exact problem Quartararo suffers from is related to the grip feeling on board the M1 Yamaha.
“It’s the feeling from behind, I have no grip in the corner, no confidence to reach corner speed and we know corner speed is so important in wet conditions,” added Quartararo.
“It’s a terrible feeling from a straight line to a lean. So we have to improve that to be faster in the wet.”
At one point it looked like a session that could be without any track action due to the hailstorm just before the start of FP2.
Given the safety concerns of many drivers around the Red Bull Ring, conditions similar to those today on race day would pose various problems.
When asked if the race should be postponed if we see similar weather on Sunday, Quartararo said: “No. I tried it in Japan in 2019 when it was really really wet and I liked it’s strange conditions when it dries out.
“When it has to rain, I like to race when it is full of rain. I think it’s a lot more fun. That depends of course on the condition of the track, because we know that Turn 2 is a pretty dangerous place.
“But having the race in full rain and wet track conditions is not a problem and I prefer that to half and half fitness.”