Fabio Quartararo will start tomorrow’s Austrian Grand Prix from a sensational second place, taking the sixth front row start of his rookie season in MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring, while team-mate Franco Morbidelli will line up for the race hoping for a good start from 14th after a strong weekend of consistency in practice.
Despite not expecting that the Spielberg circuit would play to the strengths of his Yamaha YZR-M1, Quartararo was able to nonetheless deliver stunning speed in qualifying to ensure that only Marc Marquez will line up ahead of him for tomorrow’s race. With race pace matching his time attack speed all weekend, Quartararo is quietly confident that a strong result will be possible when the lights go out.
Morbidelli goes into tomorrow’s race convinced that he can make significant progress from the fourth row, with his qualifying position not necessarily representing his pace potential. Concentrating all weekend on being consistent – mindful of expected tyre performance drop-off later in the race – Morbidelli is nevertheless aware that the opening laps of the race will be crucial for a strong result.
Tomorrow’s 28-lap Austrian Grand Prix gets underway at 1400 local time (2000 Malaysian time).
Franco Morbidelli
PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team
“We weren’t fast enough today and I couldn’t enter the corners with enough speed; we were struggling with rear traction and my confidence suffered. We’ve still got tomorrow morning’s warm-up session to try some changes, so we’re focusing on having a strong race. The forecast for tomorrow’s weather is mixed, but I’m happy regardless of what happens. I just need to make a good start and some overtakes, get into the top ten and secure a good result for the team as a reward for all their hard work this weekend.”
Fabio Quartararo
PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team
“I don’t know how I did it; I was on the limit and the last lap was pretty incredible. We did the best job we could have done, and the second position is really like pole for us. We’ll have to wait and see what is possible now tomorrow, but I owe the team a huge thanks for their hard work so far. We didn’t expect to be on the front row because it’s the toughest track for us on the calendar, but my pace isn’t too bad, so we’ll do our best and see what happens.”
