France’s 68-year wait for a home victory in the premier-cla൲ss, last achieved by Pierre Monneret in Reims 1954, continued despite reigning champion and 2022 title leader Quartararo lining up on Sunday’s grid as pre-race favourite.
Although fourth in qualifying, Quartararo looked to have the best race pace 🔜going into the 🍎27-lap race.
Despite being unable to attempt a pass on Francesco Bagnaia at the previous Jerez race, due to rising front tyre pressure whꦅenever he got too close, Quartararo was confident the front would not be so critical this time around.
That proved to be the case, but tᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚhe M1’s lack of straight-line performance meant the outcome was the same and Quartararo’s victory chances were ‘finished’ when he dropped to eighth on the op🎐ening lap.
“I don't fওeel happy about my race at all. I had three crashes in front of me, so my real position is not 4th, it’s much further bac♒k,” said Quartararo, who followed the Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro from lap 3 until the chequered flag.
“And notꦗ for our pace, because if you check every practice we had the best pace. But then in a race, as soon as you ar🏅e in a position that you are not able to overtake or to have a clean track. It’s finished.
“And this is why I waꦇs not even angr🤪y because, you know, I get a little bit used to this already.
“What is true is I give always 100%. I gave everything today. In one moment, I lost the fron🥀t and Aleix took a half a second gap, but in five corners I was alrea꧂dy back behind him again.
“So in term of speed we were super fastꦜ, but we know that it is not possible to overtak𒉰e.”
“All race we are not able to make one overtake,” Quartararo continued. “All the🌊 passes I make are because some riders made mistakes. Three crashes in front of me, Marc went a little bit wide, but I made no overtake🥂s during the race.
“The front tyre pressure went up a little bit, but ಌit was not the main [issue] and we went with the medium [rather than soft front tyre]. So if I couldn't overtake it was not for the front press💧ure.
“H𒈔ere the overtaking points are turn 3, turn 9. But on the straight I lose too much. So I cannot prepare to pass in turn 3. In 🐽turn 9 it’s the same.
“In🌺 front of me ✤I had guys that have podiums and fight for victories in MotoGP. If you lose 5-6-7-8 metres to them on the straight, I cannot then go 10k faster than them in turn 1 to try and overtake in turn 3.
“So as soon ജas you make a mistake on the start, your r🍒ace is finished.”
While the stop-and-go nature of Le Mans may have amplified Yamaha’s issues - the next best M1 of Franco Morbidelli was back in 15th place, 25s behind Qu♛artararo - the Frenchman warned the chronic overtaking problem has been present since the start of the season.
“The only real overtake I’ve made was in Portimao on Joan [Mir], because the last corner down the hill I was much ﷽faster, but I ꦆdidn’t make any good overtake this year,” he said.
Fabio Quartararo, French MotoGP race, 15 May
Quartararo: ‘Enea’s the man… I'm not the favourite, by far’
Despite t꧂he exasperating race, Quartararo retained the world championship lead, by a reduced four points over Espargaro, with race winner Enea Bastianini (Gresini Ducati) now just 8 points from the top.
“Enea is the only guy to have won more than one race this year and he’s won three,” Quartararo said. “So h🦩e's the man right now.”
And despite his position at the head of the standings after 7 of 21 rounds, Portimao winner Quartararo warned he’s having to ride too much🙈 on the limit to be considered the tit⭕le favourite.
“No, I'm not the favourite, by far,” Quartararo said. “The only t꧃♛hing I can do is make no mistakes.
“If I make no mistakes I can be there because looking 💫at our pace at Jerez, with Pecco we were the fastest. Here, for me I was the fastest, but as soon as you make a small mistake, you are gone.”
Adding to Quartararo’s frustration ♚was that he ultimately missed out on sta🐼nding on the podium, in front of a massive 110,000 home fans, by just 0.106s to Espargaro.
“I don't know what I can do, to be h🌊onest, because I'm pushing myself to the limit. I'm on the limit everywhere. But I cannot make - I cannot even try [to overtake],” he said.
“This is the most frustrating thing. Thatღ you are on the last lap and give your 100%. But even if you are one centimetre back in the corner, they accelerate and🅠 pull away one tenth… this is why I don't feel the favourite this year.”
Team🅘 principal Massimo Meregalli conceded: “In order to fight for the win, we have to prepare for the race in a perfect way: do a perfect qualifying and also have a perfect start.
“When you can‘t get a perfect start, like Fabio today, it gets d♔ifficult, even while Fabio‘s speed would have allowed him to achieve a different position. To o🐎vertake on tracks like this, with this circuit layout, is very complicated for us. We have to manage this situation race by race.”
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the fore൲front of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury👍 issues.
