Fabio Quartararo out of fuel again: “Two times in three races a bit too much”

When Fabio Quartararo ran out of fuel in the final corners of the Emilia Romagna MotoGP race, it cost him a season-best fifth place.

However the Monster Yamaha rider still had the consolation of a competitive weekend and, as a past winner of 11 MotoGP races and the 2021 world title, slipping two places to seventh wasn’t a disaster.

“I'm still super happy about how the race went. This is by far one of the best GPs we've had this year,” said Quartararo.

But the atmosphere was much frostier after a repeat of the fuel problem at Motegi on Sunday, where a frustrating weekend concluded with Quartararo spluttering across the finish line and losing eleventh to Honda’s Johann Zarco.

“Two times in three races, I think is a bit too much,” Quartararo said of the fuel problem. “Already just before the bridge I started to feel [it run out] and then out of the last corner the bike just stopped.”

The Frenchman added that he had no warning of low fuel until it was 'too late'.

“For me, it's just that they are not still OK with the electronics. I think the strategy [with the fuel] is not working, clearly,” he explained.

“Also the lights in the dashboard. This is the main problem. The lights on the dashboard are not working as we expect. So this is why the light appeared when I was without fuel. It's too late!”

After equalling his and Yamaha’s season-best of seventh in the previous three rounds, a lack of rear grip at Motegi made the team’s home event a miserable experience.

“It was a really tough weekend,” said Quartararo. “I felt like I was with a used tyre from the first lap [of the grand prix]. I didn't feel any grip from the beginning and this was something that we can't understand.

“Our [grip] depends way too much from the track and not from the bike.”

Team-mate Alex Rins endured similar woes on his way to 16th, ahead of only Yamaha wild-card Remy Gardner.