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New MotoGP starts don’t convince Quartararo: “You just brake later”

Four years ago, Fabio Quartararo celebrated his most recent MotoGP victory to date at the Sachsenring. In the MotoGP Sprint, he was a long way off the pace on his Yamaha M1, though he did manage to pick up a point.

MotoGP

11.07.2026 - 20:50

This article is an automatically generated English version. The original article was published in German.

Nach guter Qualifikation landete Fabio Quartararo im Sprint auf Rang 9
© Gold and Goose

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After going via Q1, Fabio Quartararo made it through to Q2, where he secured 6th on the grid with a time of 1:19.383. “A decent qualifying session, I’d say. Much better than expected,” summed up the Yamaha rider.

His goal for the race had been clear from the start: “My aim was basically the race itself, because I knew that Martin, Bagnaia and Acosta had more pace than us – especially in the race, where you know the tyres overheat badly. Of course we want more, but I think that was the best we could achieve.”

After a strong qualifying session, he dropped back to P9

A good starting position for the Frenchman – at least sprint points were within reach. But right at the start, he lost two places to Jorge Martin (Aprilia) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), and shortly afterwards Pedro Acosta (KTM) also found a way past him. That left him in ninth place, and he held on to the last remaining sprint point until the end.

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“We’ve taken a step forward, because I wanted a different set-up on Friday, but we didn’t try it. We then gave it a go in the second practice session. The feeling was better in areas where I’d previously had problems. We’ll stick with this set-up for tomorrow and try to make the most of the 30 laps,” explained the Frenchman.

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When asked about his feelings during qualifying, he also emphasised that he hadn’t had any real slipstream. Although Raul Fernandez had been riding ahead of him, he’d had a lead of about three seconds. “He didn’t provide any extra slipstream. I felt great when I was out on my own.”

Top speed is less of a factor at the Sachsenring, which should suit the Yamaha. The problem with the Yamaha M1 is a different one anyway: “Our aero is basic; we’re 6 or 7 km/h slower even on the short straights. The gear ratios are very short; we normally ride from second to sixth gear.” Due to the poor aerodynamics, he’s also struggling with wheelies. He’s not really enjoying riding at the moment: “I’m really struggling because I can see the others pulling away in the second sector as they have more grip and manoeuvrability.”

Greater safety at the start? Quartararo didn’t notice any difference

Quartararo was critical of the slightly staggered starting grid: for him, nothing had changed at the start. “You do notice that it’s a bit wider, but the spacing doesn’t make much difference to me.”

He doesn’t feel any safer as a result: “The extra space before the braking zone doesn’t really help in the end, because it’s simply used up again by braking later. You can gain three metres, but you end up braking later. I don’t think that helps.”

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