LE MANS (France): Fabio Quartararo is starting his home Grand Prix at Le Mans this weekend, trying to regain control of the MotoGP title race after problems last time that forced him to undergo surgery .
The Frenchman started at the top of the Spanish MotoGP standings, took the lead early on his Yamaha and looked set for his third win in four races this season. But muscle problems left him with no strength in his right forearm.
He finished 13th and cried.
Jack Miller won while his Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia took the lead in the overall standings in second place.
Quartararo had undergone an operation after the race for “chronic exertion compartment syndrome” known as “arm pump”.
His first task on the Bugatti course, which has been closed to spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be to show his willingness to go back to the attack.
“Everything is fine at the moment,” he said. “I’m not trying too hard at the moment. It is taking its course and I hope to be up to date this weekend.”
Yamaha appear to have overcome the issues they had with the bike setup at the end of last season, which cost Quartararo the title while riding for their satellite Yamaha SRT team.
The greatest threat at the French Grand Prix is likely to come from Ducati.
Bagnaia leads Quartararo by two points in the championship and the Italian machines are on the move after Miller’s win in Spain.
The other French MotoGP rider, Johann Zarco, is hoping to use a satellite Ducati Primac that matches the factory models to take advantage of the forecasted rain to achieve his first MotoGP victory.
“In the rain we could have an advantage with the Ducatis,” said Zarco, who is fifth in the championship.
The weather also helped Ducati last year at Le Mans when the Italian Danilo Petrucci, now with KTM-Tech3, won on a Ducati and took advantage of a rain shower just before the start.
The weather isn’t the only unknown approaching the weekend.
Suzuki is in disappointing form just months after driver Joan Mir won the 2020 world title.
Added to this is the slow comeback of Marc Marquez, who has been back on his Honda for two races after a year of absence after a broken right arm. He’s struggled to regain the pace that earned him six world titles by finishing seventh and ninth on both of his starts.
“The goal for this weekend is to have fewer complications and keep working to improve,” said the Spaniard.
“Step by step we are getting stronger and our goal is to continue our progress. The Le Mans weather can always make it a bit difficult, but we can handle whatever happens.”
His eternal rival, the seven-time premier class winner, Valentino Rossi, now with Yamaha-SRT, is a shadow of himself.
He has not achieved a single top ten placement since the start of this season, which at 42 years of age could be his last.
In Moto2 there were three different winners in the first four races.
The Australian Remy Gardner, son of the 1987 500cc world champion, Wayne, leads the championship.
In Moto3, 16-year-old Pedro Acosta will aim for his fourth consecutive win of the season on his debut in the championship.