Fabio Quartararo says his first MotoGP rostrum result achieved in full-wet conditions feels “like a win” after the struggles he and Yamaha have faced in the past in inclement weather.
The factory Yamaha man managed to capture a dominant pole position in Saturday’s dry qualifying session and was expected to run away in Sunday’s Indonesian Grand Prix, though a heavy tropical storm threw his chances into doubt due to the Frenchman and Yamaha in general historically lacking speed on a wet track.
Despite slipping down the order in the early stages to fifth, Quartararo managed to find speed from his M1 across the second half of the contest to pass the Suzuki of Alex Rins as well as the Ducati’s of Jack Miller and Johann Zarco, the reigning premier class world champion even starting to catch eventual race winner Miguel Oliveira in the closing tours.
His runners-up result moved him up to third in the riders standings with two events completed in 2022, just three points adrift of series leader Enea Bastianini, but Quartararo was just happy to finally launch the monkey of never having scored a full-wet weather rostrum off his back having admitted he felt “stressed” about his Indonesian GP prospects during the rain delay.
“That felt like a win because I’ve never been on the podium in a full wet race, there was Le Mans but it was a flag to flag,” explained Quartararo.
“But to do it like that with the way I was able to overtake and make my pace was amazing, and to be honest was super nice.
“It was not easy because there was a lot of time in the box waiting (rain delay), I took off my leathers and then eight minutes before the race they said it was go so I had to change super fast and get on the grid.
“I made two mistakes at the final corner where I was on the kerb and the bike was just spinning and going backwards, so in the end I managed to get my confidence when I was fifth, I saw that (Joan) Mir was behind and I knew I didn’t need to lose that position.
“Then I saw was great and I could catch (Alex) Rins a little, he made a small mistake and then I realised it was my time to fight for the podium.
“I saw the fight with Jack (Miller) and Johann (Zarco) which allowed me to catch, then I made fast overtakes so I’m very happy with the podium.
“I was a bit stressed, but it feels brilliant to get a good result.”
Quartararo added that his run at a sodden Mandalika International Circuit had given him “big confidence” over his chances in future wet encounters, though cautioned that he and Yamaha had to work to do to make sure the M1 could provide him with more rear grip when things get slippy on a more consistent basis going forward.
“This big result has given me big confidence because there have been a lot of races in those conditions, and we need to find that level of rear grip in all the tracks because I know now my real potential in the wet because I’m always missing rear grip at other tracks (in the wet,)” continued Quartararo.
“If we can be that we can be fighting, maybe not always for the podium, but I think the top six or seven is realistic.”
Keyword: ‘Stressed’ Quartararo relieved to score first full-wet MotoGP podium