MotoGP Phillip Island: Quartararo apologises, ‘Thailand was tough’

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo addressed the MotoGP media from Phillip Island on Thursday for the first time since the Thai GP.

Apologising for swerving the post race commitments at Buriram a fortnight ago, the reigning champion explained the mistake that lead to a ‘tough race’ while brushing off the disappointment as he looked towards a much more favourable circuit for the YZR-M1.

“I expect much better race, of course,” Quartararo said of the rain-struck race which saw him cross the line outside of the points. “We made a mistake from the beginning, starting from really high [tyre] pressure and at the end of the race, of course it was tough.

“I took the decision not to talk to media. I apologise to all the people that were in Thailand. It was especially tough, no feeling and yeah, that was a tough one.”

Switching his attention to Australia and the 4.5km fast and flowing Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, the Frenchman’s spirits were immediately lifted.

“Is one of my favourite tracks actually,” he confirmed. “Really fast. 2019, I twist my ankle in FP1, I couldn’t make a lot of practice and second corner, I just went to the grass so not a lot of experience, but really looking forward to be here again.

“First of all the place is quite unique. In MotoGP, you don’t have that much time to look but in Moto3, you can see really the water and everything. Really, really fast corners - turn three, seven, eight, nine, last corner, it’s really fast and I think that’s why we like it.”

While the circuit is high on every rider’s list, conditions at Phillip Island can be challenging and unpredictable. Thursday has already seen the track flooded after heavy rain ahead of the weekend but despite his recent wet weather difficulties,