Quartararo angry after Bagnaia closes gap with Misano triumph
Monday, 5 September 2022
The Championship leader had to settle for fifth.
Fabio Quartararo was left "more than angry" after Francesco Bagnaia closed the gap in the battle for the MotoGP™ title by winning the San Marino Grand Prix,
Bagnaia became the first Ducati rider to win four successive races with victory in Misano after holding off the pressure from future teammate Enea Bastianini.
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Championship leader Quartararo had to settle for fifth on Sunday after starting the race in eighth before two riders crashed out in front of him.
Quartararo battled with Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro, who the Frenchman managed to overtake by lap six.
He could not make any further progress, though, and was left frustrated after Bagnaia cut his advantage to 30 points in the championship standings.
"That was the limit," said Quartararo, who finished over five seconds behind Bagnaia. "More than angry, I was really frustrated, because I gave my 100 per cent and could not fight for more.
"Any more than that and I think I would be on the floor… we arrived really on the limit of our bike today.
"There was no problem, that's the thing. If you check the pace, I had the same pace as practice. I felt quite good on the bike.
"I made a really good race today, but it's only P5 and five seconds from the top. So we are not in a great position."
Quartararo heads into the final six rounds of the 2022 season with mixed feelings as he battles with Bagnaia and third-placed A;eix Espargaro, who has 33 points to make up.
"No, I will not say I'm worried [about the championship], but I'm also not calm," he said. "I have just been more consistent than Pecco [Bagnaia], but in the speed we are so slow."
Bagnaia says he will only begin dreaming of the championship when within touching distance of the Yamaha rider.
"I've already made too many mistakes [this season] thinking about the championship," Bagnaia said.
"My objective is to now be always competitive, always fast, always in front and try to win.
"I don't want to think about the championship, just to be more focused on my objective and to remain focused on the schedule during the weekend. I prefer to think like that."
The #MotoGP World Championship is really heating up now 🔥@FabioQ20 leads by 30 points and @PeccoBagnaia's 4th win in a row puts him second ⚔️#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 pic.twitter.com/IPuYVEBGBH
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 4, 2022
