Quartararo: I have a lot of things to learn in the wet condition

A Frenchman will start the Le Mans MotoGP race from pole after Fabio Quartararo’s last ditch effort in Q2 saw him pip team-mate Maverick Vinales. 

Conditions were a nightmare for riders throughout the day with a wet FP3 and a drying track in qualifying. 

While it was unexpectedly dry for Q2, Quartararo highlighted the ‘last sector’ as being tricky to navigate which included a close moment at ‘turn 11’ with spots of rain coming down. 

Quartararo said: "It was good that the track dried for the qualifying. The last sector was a bit tricky at the beginning, but on the last lap I pushed myself to the limit. 

"In turn 11 it was quite close but actually I didn’t know I had pole because I saw three bikes in parc ferme, but at the last moment I saw my mechanics, so yeah it was pretty cool. 

"Looks like the wet mixed condition when we are able to go with the slicks it’s not bad. But when we need to go with the wet tyres in mixed conditions, for us the bike has no acceleration and we are struggling in the drive area. 

"I feel good on the braking and corner speed, but when it is drying up it is really tough. I don’t know about the other riders but I know for me it’s impossible to really lean fast the bike."

With tomorrow’s race potentially involving a flag-to-flag situation, we could see a scenario where the Yamaha’s are strongest during the dry, but then Ducati gain the advantage in the wet, which has been the case during the wet sessions so far this weekend. 

When asked if he thinks that could be the case, the 22 year-old added: "It’s difficult to say. For me the pace of Maverick [Vinales], myself and Jack [Miller] is really good. 

"The condition in the wet I’m struggling more compared to Jack and the next Ducati - I think is Zarco. 

"We will see. I think that I have a lot of things to learn in the wet condition. I’ve done only one race here in the wet and it was difficult, so I want to learn every time more."