Fabio Quartararo says he is happy to have increased his overall lead in the MotoGP series to 47 after two laps on a track where “we should actually lose points”.
The Red Bull Ring has been a tough proving ground for the Yamaha M1 in the past, while Quartararo’s main rivals – all on Ducati machines – damaged the Frenchman’s 34-point lead in a place where the Desmosedici had won five out of five should inflict the six contested events.
Although Jorge Martin finished sixth of seven for the Italian brand at the Styrian Grand Prix last weekend, Quartararo was able to extend its three main rivals – Johann Zarco, Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller – to third with one run and extend his lead up to 40 about Pramac racing driver Zarco.
Although the Frenchman lost points to Austrian GP runner-up Bagnaia with a seventh place, the Frenchman surpassed Miller and Zarco and had seven laps left over Bagnaia and reigning MotoGP world champion Joan Mir by 47 points, a net profit of 13 over the two competitions.
Quartararo says it was “a nice feeling” to leave the Styrian mountains after widening his deficit in the series standings, but admitted that he “didn’t think about the championship” before the rain started at the Austrian GP, while he fought against Bagnaia and Marc Marquez for victory.
“I’m happy about my dry race, but I can’t be dissatisfied with the wet either, because we were slow the whole weekend in the wet and on these two laps (since switching to rain tires) we weren’t that bad,” said Quartararo.
“I only made one mistake when braking at Turn 3 and unfortunately missed fifth place as a result, but overall it is a nice feeling to leave Austria with a 47 point lead on a route where we should actually lose points.
“I’m happy because I was able to stay with Pecco (Bagnaia) and Marc (Marquez) throughout the race, which is a good step forward for us on this track.
“I didn’t think about the championship until it rained a lot. I had a few moments and when I saw Marc go into the pits I realized it was the right moment to pits and everyone followed. So I realized it was time to think about the championship and we’ll see where we end up.
“That was definitely the right decision on my part.”
The seven-time premier class race winner says he impressed himself with his bold outer pull at Turn 3, overtaking both Martin and Marquez in one fell swoop. Quartararo described his pass as “one of the best overtaking maneuvers”. my career. “
“It was scary (double overtaking in Turn 3) because I had Jorge (Martin) on the left and Marc on the right and I was out of space, so I thought I would just brake at my usual point at the limit, but I think it was one of the best overtaking maneuvers of my career, ”continued Quartararo.
“I know they are both strong brakes, so I impressed myself that I could do it.
“Under normal conditions we should be there to fight for victory (at Silverstone), that’s my goal because it was a track where we took a big step in terms of performance in 2019 and it’s one of mine Favorite tracks and I think we should be competitive in this race. “