Quartararo not pressured by Bagnaia’s “perfect” MotoGP form
MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo admits he’s “not really” feeling pressure from title rival Francesco Bagnaia despite his “perfect” form continuing with pole at the Grand Prix of the Americas.

Bagnaia has scored three poles on the bounce since Aragon, converting his previous two into back-to-back victories to cut Quartararo’s championship lead down to 48 points with four races to go.
The Ducati rider dominated qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, beating Yamaha’s Quartararo by 0.348 seconds for pole.
With Bagnaia showing strong race pace in FP4 along with the likes of Quartararo, third-placed Marc Marquez and Jack Miller back in 10th, the Italian is in a strong position to reduce his championship deficit further in Sunday’s 20-lap grand prix.
However, when asked by Motorsport.com if he is now starting to feel pressure from Bagnaia’s form, Quartararo said: “To be honest, not really.
“I mean, in his position, he is doing the perfect job since Aragon. He’s made three pole positions, two wins, so he couldn’t do better.
“But to be honest I feel also good in this track. Then of course on Sundays before the start you always feel a little bit more nervous.
“In the race in Misano I was feeling more nervous than normal, but this is normal. You are getting closer to the end and you feel nervous.
“But as soon as I start the race I feel normal, so at the moment it’s not a big difference.”

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Quartararo did admit his front row – the 14th of the season – did come as a surprise to him, as did Bagnaia’s 2m02.781s lap, while noting that he dropped time on his best effort because he had “some trouble” over the bumps at Turn 10 on his Yamaha.
“Yeah, I didn’t expect to make a front row and I didn’t expect Pecco to make this lap time,” Quartararo added.
“In the first run I had some trouble, then I really decided to push.
“Sector one was great, but then in Turn 10 I wanted to keep a little bit of margin because we have some trouble on the bumps.
“But second here is really positive and it was great fun.”
Read Also:
Related video

Mir was “scared” when Suzuki blew up in COTA MotoGP practice
MotoGP riders' request to shorten COTA race “not taken seriously”

Latest news
Tickford unveils first 2023 livery
Tickford Racing has unveiled its first livery ahead of the 2023 season with the covers coming off Brad Vaughan's Super2 entry.
“Proper send-off” for MacNeil after Rolex 24 win in GTD Pro
Jules Gounon says that winning at Daytona was an appropriate way for co-driver Cooper MacNeil to retire from racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
HPD boss "amazed" by GTP reliability in Rolex 24 at Daytona
The boss of Honda Performance Developments has expressed his amazement at the high levels of reliability demonstrated by the all-new GTP prototypes in last weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona.
How MSR took Acura to the first win of sportscar racing's new era
After much anticipation, the new dawn for sportscar racing got underway with a result that mirrored the pattern of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's previous DPi era. Here's how Acura once again took top honours in the Rolex 24 at Daytona with a 1-2 led by Meyer Shank Racing.
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew members absorbed into other operations.
How one MotoGP team went from title challengers to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is Marc Marquez ready to reclaim his MotoGP throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Motorsport.com.
How MotoGP's underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Motorsport.com why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of more competition than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
Luca Marini: Why he's more than just Valentino Rossi's brother
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Motorsport.com – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend.
Ranking the top 10 MotoGP riders of 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Motorsport.com picks out the 10 best performers of the season
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.