Fabio Quartararo, rider for Yamaha Factory Racing, achieved an impressive sixth place during the sprint race of the Brazilian MotoGP Grand Prix, despite facing a speed deficit of 12 km/h. The former world champion of 2021 displayed outstanding performance in Goiania, taking advantage of several falls in the qualifying to qualify fourth.
In the sprint race, Quartararo made a blazing start, overtaking Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez to position himself second behind Fabio di Giannantonio. However, his speed decreased as the race progressed, allowing Marquez and a trio of Aprilia riders to overtake him. Ultimately, Quartararo managed to maintain his position and finished sixth, ahead of other prominent riders like Alex Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia.
This result comes at a time when Yamaha has faced criticism for its new M1 for 2026, which has suffered performance and reliability issues. Quartararo stated that he exceeded his own expectations in qualifying, with a time that turned out better than he had anticipated. “I didn’t expect this result, and I think we had a really good race,” he commented.
The French rider admitted that he was losing power against Marquez on the straights, a claim supported by speed data showing that while the Ducati rider reached a speed of 348.3 km/h, Quartararo only managed 336.4 km/h during qualifying. Despite his loss of speed on the straights, he mentioned that the design of the Goiania circuit allowed him to make up time in the corners, especially in corner 10.
“The loss of speed is mainly due to the engine power,” Quartararo explained. “Key to our performance is maximum power in the corners. But I managed to handle it well. The circuit is small, and I know that I can be fast on a lap, but I expect to have more difficulties on circuits like Austin and Jerez”.
Yamaha fans will have a reason for optimism today, but Quartararo concluded that he does not think there has been a significant improvement in his vehicle. The day ended with the Frenchman focused on his goal of delivering 100% whenever possible.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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