‘This win gives me more confidence than last year’ - Quartararo

Fabio Quartararo recovered from ninth place at the conclusion of lap one to take victory at the Losail International Circuit. 

It was a similar performance to that of his team-mate Maverick Vinales last weekend, as he timed his way through the pack in devastating fashion. 

Speaking after the win, Quartararo said: "I feel like this win gives me much more confidence than the wins from last year as I came from far back.

"In the test it was difficult and I say woah, because the Ducati are fast in the straight and in the pace and it would be difficult to beat them. 

"But actually you need to look at yourself and try to be the best you can, and this is what we did today and it gave me a boost of confidence for the future." 

Qatar has always been a happy hunting ground for Yamaha as they have the most wins in MotoGP at this venue. 

But with Ducati having dominated the qualifying sessions on both weekends and their incredible top speed advantage, it was seen as a difficult obstacle to conquer. 

However, Quartararo was able to once again demonstrate the Yamahas strengths, something he hopes is not a Qatar circuit specific quality.

"Honestly, I’m feeling so happy because it’s true this track is helping us a lot to make some good overtakes like out of turn three," added the 21 year-old. 

"I felt so good with the bike. Also turn 8, 9,10 and 15, so it is good that we have great confidence on the front, because all the other riders are riding so fast but sometimes you make an overtake and you don’t know what is going to happen later. 

"You know, you feel the front moving but that’s something we didn’t have last year. I was just going into the corner with no feeling and then just losing the front.

"But with this bike I felt like I have a little bit more confidence on the front and I feel much more the limit. In the end this is what I need to go fast. We have it now in Qatar and I’m crossing the finger to have it in all the races."