Styrian GP won’t be "survival" race for Quartararo
Fabio Quartararo says his MotoGP Styrian Grand Prix won’t be a case of “surviving” for damage limitation, after qualifying in 10th for the second Red Bull Ring race.
The championship leader struggled to eighth in last week’s Austrian Grand Prix due to a braking issue, and was only seventh at the Czech GP having dominated the opening two rounds at Jerez last month.
On Friday at the Styrian GP, Quartararo was left baffled by a “really bad feeling” with the tyres on his Petronas Yamaha.
Quartararo had “no grip” in qualifying on Saturday despite making a step forward with set-up in practice and could only manage 10th – though will start ninth as a result of third-placed Johann Zarco’s pitlane start penalty.
When asked if his Styrian GP would be one of survival, Quartararo said: “I will attack because I think it’s really important to not stay in my position or even dropping [back].
“So, it’s not about [just] surviving, it is about the comeback. We will give our best to bring our 100%.”
Quartararo will start alongside Austrian GP winner Dovizioso, with the Frenchman noting he now has “a great person to follow” and will concentrate on making sure he trails the Ducati through his expected rise up the order.
“I think yes, because we have a great person to follow,” he said when asked if he could take solace in qualifying alongside Dovizioso.
“I will try because for sure he will come back to the front and I will give my best to... every time he overtakes someone, [I will try to] overtake also the person in front.
“But first of all, we need to make a good start. I know he's really good at this. And then our pace is not that bad.
“So, we need to see where we can fight and where we can overtake with our bike that I think there is not a lot of places.
“I want to perform in the first lap, first two braking [zones], that will be really important. And follow [Dovizioso].”
Quartararo still holds the championship lead ahead of Sunday’s Styrian GP, but sits only by 11 points clear following Dovizioso’s win last week.
Share Or Save This Story
MotoGP 2025: Full rider line-up revealed
A year on from Marquez’s Germany MotoGP meltdown, has Honda improved?
What’s behind MotoGP’s right-hander chaos in Germany practice?
Fabio Quartararo forced to leave Monster as Red Bull returns to Honda
Fabio Quartararo: MotoGP should have the same number of sprints as F1
Fabio Quartararo wades into Francesco Bagnaia's struggles: ‘I’d be furious'
Vierge rejects SRT offer to make MotoGP debut at Aragon
How SRT can convince Dovizioso to join its MotoGP team
The Moto3 rider set for the great leap to MotoGP in 2022
Charles Leclerc explains why Bahrain GP chaos has reinforced F1 driver fears
Redemption at Road Atlanta: Kevin Estre breaks IMSA victory curse in thrilling Petit Le Mans finish
Winners and losers from an intriguing NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas
Toyota explains how a photographer helped secure dramatic Fuji WEC win
Five things we learned from MotoGP Japanese GP after tyre drama
How to make two MotoGP grids with a single qualifying session
What we learned from an emotional MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix
Are Aprilia riders making it too easy for Marc Marquez to win the 2026 MotoGP title?
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.
Top Comments