Fabio Quartararo explains lacklustre Thai MotoGP race: ‘I couldn’t really push’
Yamaha rider fails to deliver on promising pre-season form
Fabio Quartararo says his lacklustre start to the 2025 MotoGP season at the Thai Grand Prix was down to his factory Yamaha having no grip from the off.
Yamaha looked strong in pre-season testing and was expected to make a competitive start to the year at Buriram last weekend.
While Pramac’s Jack Miller impressed with his fourth-place in qualifying and top six pace in the grand prix before a loose fairing saw him drop to 11th, the factory Yamaha did struggled.
Quartararo put his M1 10th on the grid, which he converted to seventh in the sprint before slumping to 15th in the grand prix having been slow from the start.
“From the beginning we had the issue with the grip, that I was struggling quite a lot to… at the beginning I thought it was to warm up the tyre,” he said.
“But at the end we checked. On the first lap I could not really push, I couldn’t lean the bike, the bike was just sliding.
“So, I lost a lot of positions and unfortunately I was not able to make a great race and a great pace. Was quite difficult one.”
Fabio Quartararo explains Thai MotoGP tyre woe
Quartararo said in the final pre-season test that he wasn’t happy with the front tyres Michelin brought to Buriram, while the stiffer rear casings also worked against the Yamaha.
For the grand prix, Quartararo was forced to use the hard front because the soft wasn’t suited to his braking style.
“Yeah, it [the soft front] collapses and already I was struggling with the hard, and the rear didn’t help us this race,” he added.
“Especially in this race the soft should have helped in the beginning, but it didn’t help.”
Yamaha’s main issue of a lack of rear grip is something that could prove to be a problem at the upcoming Argentina GP, as the Rio Hondo circuit is typically very dirty.
But Quartararo is cautiously optimistic that a return to the standard rear tyre casing for Argentina will prove beneficial.
“It’s going to be difficult for us,” he said.
“Everything with low grip at the moment is quite complicated, but let’s see with different tyres also.
“But I think the casing will be same as normal and this will also help us.”
Quotes provided by Crash MotoGP Editor Peter McLaren
