Quartararo fires warning to MotoGP rivals; 'I'm here to fight for the victory'
After struggling to find one lap performance two weeks ago in Qatar, Quartararo had no such issues during the inaugural MotoGP qualifying around the Mandalika Street Circuit.
The M1 Yamaha rider, who already set a new official lap record during FP2, did so again to claim his 16th pole in MotoGP since 2019.
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"Finally on one lap I felt great. It has been a long time since I felt good in one lap," said a relieved Quartararo. "I felt great in FP2 when I put the soft tyre on and also in FP4 I made 15 or 14 really good laps in a row.
"The pace was really good and it was important to do that many laps in a row to see the consistency of the tyres. I expected much more drop from the rear.
"It’s difficult to know because it’s a new track and we don’t know what to expect. But I felt much better than in Qatar and my potential is here to fight for the podium and victory."
Quartararo’s pole position could ultimately prove vital in his attempt at winning Sunday’s race as the 22 year-old also alluded to the Yamaha being a bike that struggles to overtake.
A big reason for that is the lack of power compared to other bikes, however, Mandalika provides its own challenges due to the circuit being dirty and therefore incredibly slippery off line.
Quartararo added: "With our bike we struggle quite a lot to overtake, so then you need to play a little bit with the pressure.
"In this kind of track where it’s really hot it’s always better to start at the front instead of the back.
"I feel like it’s a good track to start from the front row. Let’s see how my start goes. Normally I’m not too bad this year."
Looking to challenge Quartararo will be Jorge Martin, who will be hoping for a much better launch than the one he got from pole in Qatar.
Lauded for their incredible starts in 2021, Ducati riders surprisingly struggled to replicate that at the Lusail International Circuit, which will need to be avoided if they have any ideas of keeping up with the current world champion.
While Martin once again showed his knack for finding pace over one lap, it very nearly came at a cost as the Pramac rider lost the front on two occasions during his fast lap.
"It was a really difficult qualifying for me because the conditions were really hot." added the one-time MotoGP race winner.
"I was struggling a bit with the front and on my fast lap I lost the front in the first corner; I had a moment to think whether to keep pushing or to stop and lose that lap.
"Also, I lost the front in corner 15, but still I finished a good lap and second is good. The target was the first row. I didn’t think about the pole position because he (Fabio Quartararo) was super competitive.
"Maybe I could have been closer but the position would have been the same. The pace is good so let’s see, we can fight for the top positions because my pace is better than Qatar.
"There are five or six riders with a really good pace, also Marc [Marquez] and Pol [Espargaro] have a really good pace but they are back on the grid."
