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When it rains for Yamaha, it pours… In addition to the lack of competitiveness of the M1, which left Fabio Quartararo out of the Top 10 in Germany, a further complication has arisen on the eve of the Assen round for the French champion, who has been injured while training.
"I crashed running. I twisted my ankle, my toe, and I will have the x-ray in one hour. So, hopefully nothing really big. I had a full crash. Running in Amsterdam is dangerous! - the Frenchman joked upon his arrival at the circuit – If it will affect my weekend, I would say no but for sure I will take some painkillers because it's exactly where I have to shift, to put some weight on for the change of direction. For sure I will be more tired, but it's part of the job."
A sprained left ankle certainly won't help Quartararo, but the Frenchman prefers not to make a fuss of it and stay focused on an important weekend like the one in Holland. The last leg of a trio of races leading up to the summer break.
"For me, if we don't go fast here, we will not be fast anywhere – Fabio underlined – because basically it's one of my favourite tracks. I've always been fast on this track, even if you have some difficulties with the bike. In Sachsenring we expected to be fast, we were not fast. So hopefully we can make a great result and go on holiday in a great position."
The Frenchman is trying to keep his morale high, but the situation in Yamaha appears to be increasingly delicate, also in view of the lack of anything new to be introduced on the bike soon.
"Every time we try something it's never been better; it has always been a situation where we don't know what we try. We have tried already two chassis, but nothing was better. It's difficult to improve with what we have, but I hope there's a plan and that Yamaha can find something that allows me to push even harder - admitted El Diablo - I'm looking at the Misano tests, but up to a certain point, because there we will test the 2024 bike and I need something now. Obviously, we must be strong next year, but we are not even halfway through the season and there is nothing really planned. The others have a growth during the year, and this is my biggest concern”.
The M1’s potential has disappointed Quartararo, who is hoping for a clear step forward in 2024: "I expected bigger changes on the bike this year, but nothing really worked in the pre-season, so we went back to what we had in previous years. Obviously, I hope for big changes for 2024" commented Fabio, who was then asked about his teammate for next season: "I'm not interested. Honestly, I have no preferences about who will join or stay in the team. Obviously, I'd prefer someone with MotoGP experience, but I don't have preferences as far as the person is concerned."
