Catalunya MotoGP Quotes | Jack on tyres | Aleix on finishes…

MotoGP 2022 – Round Nine
Catalunya MotoGP Rider Quotes

Fabio Quartararo – P1

“Being on the attack right from the start had to be the plan for today. Our pace was great, and I knew I had to manage my rear tyre, but I also knew that, if I got into first place, the race was going to be great. I braked super late in the first braking zone, and I thought that I was going to go super wide, but I managed to defend my position well. It was a really long race. I was leading from the first corner to the end, so this was a very constructive victory. Of course, I did feel a drop. I was pushing so hard in the opening laps, but I felt like I had more to give during this race. I had a bit of a margin left. I’m so happy to have this victory in the bag! I’m really satisfied. I’m feeling at my 100%, and I’m riding the bike like I was riding my scooter at home – it’s mine! I love it, and I‘m enjoying it so much. I’m always improving on the bike and the really good thing is that I can think while riding and that is something really difficult when riding at that speed.”

Jorge Martín – P2

“I didn’t come back because I never left…. I am so happy, it was needed for me and for the team. We have worked so hard and we deserve this podium.”

Johann Zarco – P3

“I am happy, we were strong all weekend and I took advantage of Aleix’s mistake to get on the podium. We have taken a step forward this weekend and now we have to continue like this.”

Joan Mir – P4

“My first lap and the first part of the race went very well, I felt really good. I had a yellow flag penalty; I passed another rider on the straight when I was tucked down and then I didn’t see the flag at Turn 1. As the race went on I started to struggle a little bit, but I was able to manage the situation. It was very important for me to finish this race well and get prepared for the test tomorrow. It’s nice to take some points after a rough few weeks.”

Aleix Espargaro – P5

“There isn’t much to say except to apologise to the team. It was my mistake, after a practically perfect weekend here in Barcelona. I misunderstood. Our garage is very close to where you come out of the last turn and, being completely focused, I only looked at how far Martin was behind me on my pit board, whereas the track tower showed ‘L0’ and that made me think that it was the final lap. At the beginning of the race I might have been able to push harder, but I was concerned about tyre wear and then, of course, making up the gap behind Fabio is never a simple task. But if I want to beat him in the World Championship, I cannot afford to make mistakes like this.”

Luca Marini – P6

“I am very happy with today’s race: I made no mistakes and I kept a good pace. I lost during the first two laps a little too much, I was behind Espargaro, there were the yellow flags and so I lost the contact with Zarco who then climbed up to the podium. Then I tried to force a bit, but I stressed a lot of the rear tire and I preferred to manage it. Despite this, the last 6 laps the tire was finished and I had no traction at the exit of the corners. A positive momentum for me and the Team, very little is missing to be there fighting for the podium and we will work hard tomorrow in the testing session to make this last step forward that separates us from this goal.”

Maverick Vinales – P7

“This weekend we did a good job overall. We clearly still need to improve but I feel like we’re getting there. Starting with the soft rear tyre was a gamble but we analysed the choice during all the sessions and in the end, even if it didn’t pay off the way we expected it to, it was still the best option for us. Tomorrow will be an important day of testing. We’ll keep experimenting and trying to find the right feeling.”

Brad Binder – P8

“Today, if you look at the positions, I don’t think we can be too unhappy. To come from 15th to 8th means some solid points for our tally but it was a difficult race. I couldn’t push like I wanted as I had problems with front traction and was looking after the rear tire. I just tried my best until the end and that was all I could do. Tomorrow my main goal is to make sure that the team have a very clear idea of what we need and which direction we have to work and how they can bring us a competitive package for not only the rest of the season but also next year.”

Miguel Oliveira – P9

“As expected a hard race with low grip conditions but we had enough performance to be in the top ten so I’m happy for this. We made good decisions in the race. I’m only a bit frustrated by not being able to complete an overtaking move on Brad and I lost too much time. I then did the rest of the race alone. It was all that was possible today and now we have the test tomorrow and we hope to make our bike a little bit better for the coming races, this will be key.”

Álex Márquez – P10

“Well, after starting from the back of the grid, we made a really good start. I was trying to give my best, but the accident at the first corner of (Taka) Nakagami and (Alex) Rins put me out and I lost the positions I had gained from the start. But I never gave up, I just tried to keep pushing and keep believing that it was possible to be there. We chose the soft tyre which was difficult to manage, but I tried to be smooth and not make mistakes. It was a nice Sunday, we saved Sunday and that is the most important thing, but we still have problems, but we will keep going and we will try to fix them. Tomorrow, we have a really important test and physically I’m ok, I have some pain, but I’ll try to do as many laps as possible.”

RelatedPosts

Malaysian MotoGP Statistical Smorgasbord

October 20, 2022

Full Oceania Junior Cup wrap from the Australian MotoGP

October 18, 2022

Remy Gardner – P11

“We got a good result which is really encouraging for the team and myself. There have been a lot of crashes, but I managed to stay on two wheels and fight until the end. I was even able to overtake both Franco Morbidelli and Darryn Binder in the final lap, so we can say that we deserve this result. I am really happy for everyone involved, and we now need to continue in this positive direction.”

Darryn Binder – P12

“It was a good race for me today. I knew that my Qualifying position yesterday didn’t really indicate what I was capable of. Anyway, I got off to quite a good start. I was a bit unsure during the race about how much to push in the beginning because I knew the tyre was going to wore off, but I wasn’t really sure about how much. I still had a really good race, I battled with some really big names that have achieved a lot, so I really enjoyed it a lot. Remy got the better of me on the last lap and I just didn’t have anything left to get back at him, but it was cool. Step by step I feel like I’m heading in the right direction. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s test to try to improve on the soft tyre for Qualifying to get a better starting position, which should make my life easier on a Sunday.”

Franco Morbidelli – P13

“We made a few improvements this weekend, we saw some good things. Especially on Friday, with no grip, the feeling was really good. Then the grip increased, and I started to struggle again, but generally speaking it was less than before. I had a bit of an incident at the start of the race with another rider. I was very behind, I was dead last, but I was able to catch up and get close for the battle for the top 10. This is definitely a step forward, this is positive. But we are not where we want to be. We know where we need to improve, we are chasing. We are trying to find the right feeling, and we will manage it at some point.”

Jack Miller – P14

“There’s no point sugar-coating it – that was a pretty shithouse day to finish off a shithouse weekend. Finishing 14th… last year I was on the podium here, and this year I was 30 seconds away and looking for answers. We know the bike, and I didn’t forget how to ride… we definitely need to go away, analyse it and work out what happened because this one was a head-scratcher.

“Barcelona has been pretty good to me the past few years before this, and it’s not so far from Andorra for me and I’ve done a heap of laps here on the Ducati Panigale over the years. But it’s such a difficult circuit when it’s super hot because the grip level isn’t fantastic by any stretch of the imagination. It’s always pretty low here but when it’s hot, you’re just sliding around everywhere and it gets worse here every year. The asphalt is not even that old – I think it’s three years old – so that’s kind of a shame. It’s slippery like Argentina. You can’t really get near the limit of the bike because you’re worried about losing the front, so that changes how you attack the corners. You have to be super smooth, basically. It’s always a strategic race here more than a flat-out fast one, you’re surviving the conditions and seeing what grip you have in the last five laps, because you can make big gains or drop a lot at the end of races here. It’s kind of like a waiting game, you have to be patient and wait for the tyres of the others to drop off late in the race. It’s the only plan around here. 

“The track was 55 degrees or more for qualifying and the race, so we took a gamble in the race with the hard tyre hoping it would last even if it made the start of the race hard. But it just never came to me, I tried my maximum from the beginning of the race until the end but I quickly had nothing on the right-hand side of the tyre. By the end, I was spinning in a straight line! The hard tyre just didn’t function, basically. Felt like I had two decent tyres all weekend. 

“I got up to 11th at one stage with no real pace, I passed a few of the boys and some others fell off or dropped out so I might have been half a chance to sneak a top-10 result, but by the end I was doing times I know I can do on a Panigale with tyres from off the shelf – and that’s not normal. Other than that, there’s not much else I can say. Just very frustrated, and the last two weekends haven’t been great. 

“There’s a bit going on at the moment, we have a test here on Monday before we head to Germany in a couple of weeks and… yeah, there’s a bit going on. There’s no official announcements at the moment, but we’re just waiting when one of them comes out. You’ll all know what’s happening soon…”

Raul Fernandez – P15

“I struggled to move my body on the bike and didn’t have too much confidence in the front tire, so on a technical track like this, it was always going to be challenging. I am still happy that I have finally scored my first point. Tomorrow will be an important day as we have work to do in order to improve my bike. This is our target and I am hoping that we will be able to make progress.”

Michele Pirro – P16

“It was a difficult race in which we tried to collect important data that could allow us to improve. In the first laps I lost contact with the Top 15 and this did not allow me to take advantage of the opportunity. I am sorry because it was a result within our reach. However, we still have a chance in Misano and we will give it our all”.

Pol Espargaro – P17

“Today we had a lack of grip compared to the previous sessions unfortunately. It’s really disappointing because I made a great start and was up there with the leading group. Tomorrow we have an important test and I think it will be very busy for me. Let’s prepare properly for the second part of the season. I hope Taka is OK, it was a big crash right in front of me.”

Stefan Bradl – DNF

“An unfortunate end to the weekend. I made a really good start and was riding well, making up positions. We were battling near the points when the rear started to slide at Turn 10 and I fell. It was quite a big impact, I am a bit sore but it is nothing major. It’s really a shame because we could have been fighting for points today. Now I get ready for the test on Monday.”

Enea Bastianini – DNF

“I didn’t do anything unusual… I entered the corner the same way as the lap before but unfortunately the front-end didn’t hold. I wanted to do a decent race without overdoing it, but it didn’t happen. I have no explanation at the moment. Ironically enough I was really quick in that part of the track and we were doing a good race. We were right there, and even sixth or seventh would have been an important result.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – DNF

“Unfortunately there was a lot of wind at the entrance of turn 13… I entered the corner the same way as in previous laps but the front tucked and I couldn’t save it. A pity because we got a good start, I was managing the race well and I knew I had a good pace: that mistake was the last thing we needed. Let’s focus on the test now: there’ll be a lot of work to set-up wise.”

Marco Bezzecchi – DNF

“It wasn’t an easy start, but I was trying to recover and not put too much stress on the front tyre. I was getting a lot of hot air in slipstream and, even if I didn’t force much the braking at that point at Turn 10, I crashed. A real shame for the whole Team, they did a great job. An aspect on which I have to work and make a step in order not to run into these mistakes again.”

Andrea Dovizioso – DNF

“I’m a bit disappointed, because this weekend overall was quite a bit better. We arrived at the race with an improved feeling, but unfortunately, Bradl crashed in front of me in turn 10 of the first lap and I lost four positions. I couldn’t overtake other riders, I’m not able to accelerate well and on the brake in the front it was really difficult. It was locking and I couldn’t brake, so I couldn’t overtake. I was able to manage the rear tyre in the right way and I knew I could be competitive at the end of the race and catch the group with Alex Marquez in front of me. But when I was behind some other guys with the slipstream, I couldn’t stop the bike, the front logged, I did a long run and it just wasn’t good. I’m disappointed about that, because my speed was a bit better than the others, but it is what it is.”

Francesco Bagnaia – DNF

“First of all, I’m happy to hear that Nakagami is OK after the nasty crash. In my opinion, he went a little overboard, considering it was the first corner of the first lap, and he had already made up several positions. These are races, and I don’t have much to add. Now, we have to work heads down and stay focused for the next races. We can do well in the upcoming Grands Prix and make up some points. It won’t be easy given the consistency of Quartararo. Still, even last year, we had a significant disadvantage, and we managed to finish the season 26 points behind him, so everything is still open.”

Alex Rins – DNF

“First of all, I hope that Taka is OK, because I saw him in the medical centre, and I saw the replay of the crash, and it was very bad. You never want to see anyone injured, especially not a fellow rider. However, a mistake by him has cost me today, and another race with zero points is hard to take. I had a lot of potential today and strong pace, and I felt it could’ve been a really good race for me. But there’s nothing I can do now, and let’s see what the diagnosis is at the hospital.”

Team Managers

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

“It‘s been a near perfect weekend for us. We couldn‘t have asked for a better way to seal our multi-year agreement with Monster Energy and to announce the Yamaha-Quartararo partnership for 2023-2024. We knew that we would have a chance for a good race, but Fabio blew us all away with his pace today. The key was managing the tyre wear. He was able to break away and still controlled the tyre life better than all the others. He did the absolute perfect race in conditions that were incredibly tricky. This win is like gold! For Franky this was a very difficult race. He was pushed wide on the first lap by another rider and that made him drop back to last place. It was a hard climb back up the ranks, but he was able to overtake. The thing we take away from this race is that he made another step and that he and his crew are working in the right direction. Tomorrow, during the one-day IRTA Test, we will keep working with him to continue to make him feel better on the bike. We will use this test to maximise our current package in preparation for the upcoming races.”

Livio Suppo – Suzuki Team Manager

“I’m very pleased with Joan’s race, he did a very good job. If it weren’t for the qualifying position he could’ve been fighting for the podium, because his race pace was really good. I have no words for Alex, he made a perfect start, and with the rhythm he showed in the practice sessions I’m pretty certain he would’ve been able to challenge for the podium. These bad moments can happen in racing, and I believe he will come back stronger.”

Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager

“It was a real pity for Alex, he showed how strong he could be in the race by getting a good start and it was so disappointing to see him fall so early in the race, through no fault of his own. He put together a good weekend in general. Joan had a great result because he came up from 17th on the grid to fourth, he stayed calm and got good points. I feel that we still haven’t reached our potential and we have more to offer in the coming races.”

Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Team Manager

“Tough conditions for everybody but it was a positive thing that we recovered a lot of positions. We know we lacked front-end grip that affected performance but the big picture is that we had two top tens and all four riders in the points and now we’ll look to do good work and some ideas in the test tomorrow. We want to get closer to the leaders like we were at the start of the season and we’re very confident it will happen.”

Hervé Poncharal – Tech3 KTM Team Manager

“Tech3 KTM Factory Racing had to wait for the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship to finally have our two riders scoring points. We are really proud and happy for both Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez. With the hot conditions, we knew it would be a tough and long race, but they held on until the end and learned a lot.

“Congratulations to Remy because he was in the chasing group the entire race and even gained two more positions in the final lap to get a P11, his best result of the season. This proves that he was feeling good and fresh enough to be able to push until the checkered flag, which is a huge progress for him. Miguel Oliveira won the race here last year, and I would like to underline that Remy only finished six seconds behind him today, so I think that this is enough to demonstrate the level of his performance today. Of course we still have a lot of work to do, but we will take his positive result and feed on it to continue moving forward together.

“Raul was a bit behind but also never gave up. He even managed to overtake Pol Espargaro who is on a Honda factory bike, something I am sure he can be happy with. He scored his first, but not last, point of the season. I want to thank him for his hard work and never give-up attitude, and would like to say to him to hold on because we still have many races and we are in our rookie season. We will continue pushing, working and learning together. Thank you to the whole MotoGP crew, and to KTM for their continued support.”

Razlan Razali – Team Principal WithU Yamaha RNF

“Another strong performance by Darryn Binder battling with the likes of Franco Morbidelli and Jack Miller. To finish 12th is a very solid performance by Darryn after coming through an unsatisfied Qualifying. So, he certainly has made up for it and that was a very good race from him that shows he is able to continue the momentum in racing. So, the team is very happy, now he is back to become second in the rookies. We hope that he can continue his progression to Sachsenring in two weeks’ time. For Andrea, we were hopeful to score some points in the race, but unfortunately, he suffered some kind of issue with his front tyre, which the team is still trying to determine the cause. So far we couldn’t really figure out what the reason was. But we will not give up, there is still time to turn his season around and hopefully with this test on Monday and this short well-deserved break before Germany, we can come back fresh and stronger.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager WithU Yamaha RNF

“This ninth round was very positive for Darryn. He did a fantastic race and was even fighting for a top 10 spot at a certain point. He finally finished 12th and I think with four points he can be very proud about himself. The weather conditions were crazy, it was very hot, 55 degrees on track, so the tyres dropped a lot. Anyway, he was fighting until the end with some great names. He did fantastic and we can say, he made a good step forward, especially in racing. He still needs to grow a bit in terms of performance when he is on his own, then he struggles a bit, but he is still second in the rookies standings with 10 points. Seeing the other side of the garage, Andrea actually had a strong pace as well. He didn’t have the best start, but was later in the same group. Unfortunately, from lap three onwards, he had some issues with the front tyre. It’s still unclear, as the tyre was looking ok from the outside and the pressure was good, so we need to investigate a bit more. Clearly, the front was locking because of the tyre temperature and conditions, but other than that we were not able yet to find out, what exactly happened, but we are working on it.”

MotoGP Race Results

MotoGP Event Top Speeds

MotoGP Championship Points Standings