MotoGP Mandalika: Quartararo ‘feeling great, tyres better than expected’

Fabio Quartararo recorded his first pole position as reigning MotoGP Champion in preparation for the IndonesianGP on Saturday.

The Monster Energy Yamaha had been on the pace all weekend having led the way on Friday, and firmly in the mix of the frontrunners in FP4 - with teammate Franky Morbidelli topping the session. Only Saturday morning’s wet FP3 same the Frenchman struggle as he failed to set a time within the 105 per cent margin.

With qualifying returning to dry conditions, Quartarao was back in his element, setting two fastest laps in succession to secure the pole with a 1’31.067 lap, and two-tenths ahead of the chasing Pramac Ducatis.

“Felt great, finally on one lap, since long time I didn’t feel so good,” Quartararo confirmed from the press conference.

“Here I felt great from FP2 when I put the soft rear and actually FP4. I’m super happy because I made 15 or 14 laps in a row and the pace was really good.

“I think was the most important to make that laps in a row to see the consistency of the tyres and I’m pretty happy. I think that I expect much more drop from the rear. To be honest, I feel great. Tomorrow maybe I try the medium on warm up or I will make more laps on the soft.

“Is difficult to know because it’s a new track,” he continued, looking ahead to Sunday’s 27-lap race. “We don’t know exactly what to expect. But for me, my main goal is to try to do my best and at the end we will see which result we make. I felt much better than in Qatar. I felt my potential is much better and is here to fight for podium and victory. So let’s see what we can do but the first thing is to enjoy and then we’ll see what the result will be.”

While the Frenchman was pleased with his pole-worthy performance, the importance of