Fabio Quartararo apologises to the media after breaking silence
The reigning world champion has seen a commanding 91 point advantage over Francesco Bagnaia reduced to just two in the MotoGP standings with three races remaining.
Since Sachsenring Quartararo has failed to take victory, with Bagnaia doing so on four occasions.
With pressure mounting given the form of Bagnaia and Ducati, Quartararo’s worst performance of the season came at exactly the wrong time as he failed to score points for the second time since Assen - is only the second time that’s happened in his MotoGP career when finishing a race - the first being his debut in 2019 at Qatar.
With such disappointment came the decision not to address the media, which Quartararo has now apologised for.
Speaking in the pre-event press conference, Quartararo added: "I expected a much better race of course. We made a mistake from the beginning starting with really high [tyre] pressure and at the end of the race it was tough.
"I took the decision not to talk to the media and I apologise to all the people that were in Thailand. It was especially tough and [I had] no feeling. Was a tough one."
Championship fight on Quartararo’s mind
Still of the mindset that he needs to take it one race at a time, Quartararo has conceded that now is also the time to think about his championship battle, not just with Bagnaia, but also Aleix Espargaro, Jack Miller and Enea Bastianini who all remain threats.
"Well, we have to think about the championship but I want to take it race-by-race," said Quartararo. "We are almost level on points with Pecco [Bagnaia] but I don’t only see Pecco.
"Of course, Aleix is here, Jack, Enea, so we are fighting with not a lot of points [advantage]. Okay, the top three is a little bit closer but I think we have to think race-by-race and I think each one can be a good one for us."
Quartararo claims MotoGP success and failures have made him calmer
After missing out on the title in 2020 when he was the clear favourite with a few rounds to go, Quartararo made the most of his dominance in 2021 to claim the title.
And with the Yamaha rider again involved in tight battle just like two years ago, the French rider believes the experience gained in both his successes and failures has led to him being calmer heading into the last few races of this season.
Asked if he feels experience can play a role, Quartararo said: "Yes! Especially 2020 which was a year where I was fast and we had a problem within Yamaha. But apart from that I was always looking at my first rider which I think was Joan [Mir] at that stage and actually last year I had to be faster in all the circumstances.
"Having the title from last year brings me a lot more confidence and experience. The experience of the last two years helps me to be calm in this situation."
