MORE FAB RIDES CAN LAND ME TITLE
FABIO QUARTARARO believes he is mentally ready to fight for his first Motogp title after a blistering race win in Portugal.
The Frenchman banked his second successive victory just two days before his 22nd birthday after a dominant display at Portimao yesterday.
He cruised to the chequered flag almost five seconds ahead of Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia.
As several rivals crashed out – including Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco who had led the points before the weekend began – the Monster Energy Yamaha rider now tops the championship after surprising himself with his sizzling speed.
“We set an amazing pace and it was totally unexpected,” he said. “I feel we can do a great job now during this year.
“Mentally I have grown a lot and it was great to be able to be in front and push to the limit.
“I’m so impressed and I think it’s only the beginning. I feel great mentally, great on the bike and great with the team.”
Starting from pole, Quartararo dropped to sixth at the start as Zarco led into turn one, closely followed by Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins.
Rins took the lead on lap five, but Quartararo had already clawed back three places and was soon up to second before passing Rins for the lead on lap nine.
Rins kept close behind for most of the race, but made a mistake with seven laps remaining and crashed out.
Zarco moved back to second but it lasted less than a lap as he was passed by Bagnaia and then also crashed.
This gave Quartararo a clear sprint to the flag, beating
Bagnaia by 4.809secs as reigning champion, Suzuki’s Joan Mir, finished third.
“I used a hard rear and I knew Rins was on the medium so in the end he was going to drop a little bit more with the conditions,” added Quartararo.
“But he made a mistake and I was riding well, still keeping a gap to Pecco so I’m happy.”
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez finished seventh in his comeback race after nine months out while Valentino Rossi endured another day to forget after crashing on lap 15 from 12th place.