Quartararo: I don’t need time to see Yamaha situation, I understand the bike

MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo finds late improvements to claim a top five position during the opening day of MotoGP testing in Mandalika. 

The Yamaha rider, who has already lamented the lack of top speed improvements made by the Japanese manufacturer, was one of several riders to jump up the order during the final hour of running. 

While some riders decided to use a new tyre for their fastest run, Quartararo instead set his quickest time on 16 lap-old mediums.

After struggling somewhat in Sepang, clear weather and a chance to better understand the 2022 M1 in dry conditions would have been beneficial, however, when asked if today was a ‘lost day’, Quartararo said the opposite. 

"No, to be honest it was a really important day. Ok, the first 30 laps were tricky because of the condition, but then as soon as I put the soft tyre on in the middle of the day and made a step, then I was feeling fine," added Quartararo. 

"I was really fast with used tyres and I made my fastest lap with a 16 laps medium. So I was happy. 

"Our pace was strong so I’m looking forward to making a time attack and seeing our potential."

With Ducati believed to have made significant improvements to their new GP22 compared to last year - although its performance has not yet matched expectation during testing - while Honda, Suzuki and Aprilia all look to have made big steps, Quartararo is likely to need more from Yamaha. 

But with no sizable upgrades coming his way, the French rider is already talking up the importance of making every qualifying session count this year, as first or second row is the minimum he can afford.  

Quartararo said: "Well, you know that I understand the bike for a long time already. From Sepang I understand well how we are with the bike. As soon as the track was clear here I understood it also, so at the end I would say that I don’t need time to see the situation of Yamaha. 

"I know it and I know the behaviour of the bike during the first test. And of course I couldn’t really make a time attack, let's say. 

"That’s something that we need to work on more for me than the pace. Our pace today I felt was really strong. 

"But we are missing some training with the new tyre because I feel it will be a really important point for us to make every time attack count this year and to be on the first row, maximum second row.

"At the end we have the same bike as Sepang. Our base is done. We don’t have so many things to try. Here it is the same so I feel ready."