Winning the MotoGP World Championship in 2021 begins for Fabio Quartararo to finally come home before the penultimate round of the season this weekend.
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The Frenchman, who moved up from 15th place on the grid to fourth place, took the title after seeing championship rival Francesco Bagnaia fall from the lead.
Without this mistake, the title fight would most likely have rolled out to the second race of the year at Portimao this weekend, but with the pressure now completely gone, Quartararo is back in the mindset of finishing first, as he did when he won the Algarve International Circuit in April.
“It took a while, but winning the MotoGP World Championship in 2021 has finally made its mark,” said Quartararo.
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“Now that I don’t have to think about the tables and points all the time, I can go back to the way we thought when we came here earlier this year.
“Our goal is to be first again, like at the start of the championship, because we still have to fight for the team and constructors’ titles.
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“We drove a great race on this track at the Portuguese GP. The pace was so fast, so I’m really excited to see what we can achieve this weekend.”
On his way to fourth place in Misano, Quartararo prevailed against his team-mate Franco Morbidelli, who ended up ten places down after qualifying seven.
The Italian’s early pace was impressive but after struggling with his physical condition the Italian quickly fell through the field.
Even so, Morbidelli feels that steps are being taken in front of Portimao, a lap that, given the physical nature, could be challenging.
Morbidelli added: “The Emilia-Romagna GP weekend was overall positive for us. We took a good step to improve the feel of the bike and my pace at the start of the race was good.
“The condition of my knee is improving from week to week, so we are seeing steady progress.
“Portimao could be a challenge though. I don’t know how physically demanding this route will be, especially given the difference in altitude, but I always enjoy riding this route so I’m looking forward to it.”