Quartararo ecstatic after tyre gamble pays off in Germany
Monday, 20 June 2022
The Frenchman is riding better than ever.
Fabio Quartararo declared he is "riding better than ever" after a tyre choice gamble paid off at the German Grand Prix on Sunday.
Track temperatures exceeded 50 degrees at the Sachsenring, where Francesco Bagnaia started on pole, with reigning MotoGP™ world champion Quartararo one of just two riders to opt for the medium rear tyre.
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The Frenchman's decision was rewarded as he overtook Bagnaia on Turn 1, with Quartararo leading for all 30 laps and winning the race by almost five seconds to extend his lead in the championship to 34 points.
Bagnaia crashed out on lap four, losing the rear end of his GP22 for his fourth abandonment of the season, and last year's runner-up now sits 91 points behind Quartararo.
While Bagnaia was left to rue his mistake, Quartararo admitted he was nervous about his tyre decision.
"I feel tired. I was sick all weekend and during the race I was coughing a bit," Quartararo told reporters.
"I have no words. We took a choice on the rear tyre, the medium, that was really risky and in the race we were lucky because it dropped much more than expected.
"But I'm super happy. A really, really special victory, it was a little bit like Barcelona.
"On Friday I was not so great, yesterday was much better and this morning, with the medium tyre I felt it was the correct choice.
"In the race, the conditions were totally different and from the beginning, I was scared because I was using the tyre a little bit more than expected to ride fast.
"The last five, six laps were a total disaster from the rear. But the feeling on the front was super good."
Yamaha's Quartararo picked up his third win of 2022, adding to victories at the Portuguese Grand Prix and Catalan Grand Prix, and the 23-year-old feels he is in the form of his life.
"Of course, I'm feeling better than ever every time I race," the defending world champion added.
"I'm learning and I feel like every time I find something. The focus here was to make 30 laps in front and being consistent was something difficult.
"Barcelona helped me a lot because I had a similar situation, but of course I'm feeling confident and I feel I'm riding better than ever."
The coolest podium boys 😎
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 19, 2022
🥇 @FabioQ20
🥈 @JohannZarco1
🥉 @jackmilleraus #GermanGP 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/SvNRRzCpun
