Quartararo: “I could not show my pace, track limits warning from the beginning…”

What has so far been his strongest weekend of the 2023 MotoGP campaign, Quartararo pushed Binder for the entire race before taking advantage of his infringement.

Overtaking was again a huge problem for the French rider, who appeared to be quicker than Binder. But when the factory KTM rider clipped the green on the final lap at turn eight, a message quickly popped up saying Binder had a Long Lap as a result.

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With there being no time to serve his penalty, Binder was instead given a three-second penalty as an equal punishment to that of a Long Lap, meaning Quartararo was bumped up to P3 behind Ducati riders Marco Bezzecchi and Francesco Bagnaia. 

"I think this is basically all we can do," said Quartararo. "If we start better, maybe we stay [at the front], at least in this track. 

"Some tracks we can start really in front and it won’t matter. But here I started P4 and finished P4. [The penalty] was the only way for me to overtake Brad. 

"We are struggling so much and if you see my pace from this morning I was so fast. In the race I could not show it because I was not able to do my lines."

While it’s been a weekend and a result that will lift the spirits at Yamaha, Quartararo was not overly joyful in the press conference as issues with the M1 remain.

"In the sprint we could see where we were losing quite a lot, so hopefully we can manage a little bit better tomorrow,” added the 2021 world champion. "The pace is not too bad."

Several riders including Quartararo were handed a track limits warning very early on, as the curbs around the Assen circuit, particularly those which bend inwards, made it difficult to stay on-track.

But Quartararo, who was unaware of Binder’s infringement, managed to stay inbounds for the remainder of the race which proved vital.

Quartararo said of Binder’s penalty: "I had no idea because I was also on a track limits warning from the beginning. I was trying not to be on the green."