Fabio Quartararo: 'I don't want to dwell on Qatar'

Reigning MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo insists he won't dwell on the disappointing ninth place in the Qatar season opener, an event he won the previous year, as he sets his sights on fighting back into contention at Mandalika this weekend.

Already fearing a difficult race due to a lack of top speed progress with the latest Yamaha, Quartararo - like fellow factory M1 riders Franco Morbidelli and Andrea Dovizioso - was then also struck by tyre pressure problems in the race.

That meant Quartararo's early progress from eleventh on the grid soon stalled and he sank back to tenth until Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin clashed ahead of him.

The final lap of the race then saw Quartararo lose eighth to countryman Johann Zarco, as he finished 10.5s from victory and behind at least one bike from each of the other five MotoGP manufacturers.

"I don‘t want to dwell on what happened in Qatar, also because I know that we have a good starting point for this weekend. I will be focusing 100% on getting a good result," Quartararo said.

Fortunately for Quartararo and Yamaha, Mandalika looks kinder to the M1 on paper, not least in terms of maximum speeds, which should be around 40km/h slower than Qatar.

Quartararo was also highly competitive at the track during February's dusty three-day test, setting the second fastest lap time behind Honda's Pol Espargaro as well as a strong race pace.

However, a partial track resurfacing since and some 'modified' Michelin tyres are likely to mean bike set-up will need to be adapted for the race weekend.

"I'm feeling good and ready to start riding at Mandalika again. We did a good job here during the winter test. We got a lot of work done and completed many laps, so we will make good use of that," Quartararo said.

"Our pace was good here during the test, but many of our rivals were fast, so every detail and every fraction of a second will count."

"We have left the Qatar GP behind us now, but that doesn‘t mean we have forgotten about it. We've learned from it and are now ready to put up a strong fight in Indonesia," added team director Massimo Meregalli, suggesting the tyre pressure issue, caused by rising temperatures when following other riders in the race, should at least be resolved.

Despite a longest straight of only 507m, many of Mandalika's 11 right and 6 left turns are taken at high speed, putting a premium on handling.

"The layout of Mandalika circuit suits our bikes quite well. After the test, part of the circuit has been resurfaced, and we have to see how it will work," Meregalli said. "We'll start the weekend closely similar to how we ended the test in February because both Fabio and Franky [Morbidelli] were quite satisfied about their bikes.

"We are definitely looking forward to this weekend. The Indonesian fans are incredibly passionate about MotoGP, and with this being the first MotoGP race here, anything can happen.

"The Mandalika test ended with 19 riders covered by just one second, so this should be a race to remember."

Team-mate Franco Morbidelli finished eleventh in Qatar, but was an impressive fifth at the Mandalika test, signalling his qualifying potential.

"Judging by our earlier visit, the track conditions will be improving over the course of the three days. We know that especially Sector 2 can be tricky, so we will be working on getting the balance of the bike just right to suit this circuit," Morbidelli said.

Free practice at Mandalika begins on Friday.