Fabio Quartararo has revealed that his Japanese Grand Prix was heavily compromised by fuel conservation issues last Sunday, hinting that it was not an isolated probem.
Quartararo finished Yamaha’s home race 12th, the same position where he had started, making it a reasonably average result by the standards of his season. The Frenchman was also the Iwata factory’s top representative at the chequered flag, with team-mate Alex Rins next best in 16th.
Nonetheless, the 2021 world champion said he could have been much faster had he not been concerned about running out of fuel.
“It was difficult because from lap seven I had a fuel issue, so it was not the best way,” he reported. “I could go much faster but unfortunately I had to take care a lot about the throttle.
“From Turn 2 to Turn 3 I was at 70% throttle, on the back straight 70% and 70% on the main straight. I could go faster but unfortunately we had that.
“I’m happy with my riding and I think it’s the most important [thing].”
Asked if he had any theory about why the fuel consumption was so extreme, for example an electronic issue, Quartararo replied: “No, no, no, it’s nothing strange…
“I don’t know if the team expected to have less consumption on the fuel, but at least I didn’t expect to have this issue, especially in the beginning when I was in the slipstream… I had it really, really early.
“Even with the slipstream I had to close [the throttle], so then I moved, and without the slipstream it was even worse. That is part of the race unfortunately.”
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Compounding Yamaha’s woes was the fact that its top speed is still the worst in the field. The marque’s four representatives took the bottom four places during the race, which was typical of its performance throughout the weekend.
“Yeah, we’re missing top power and unfortunately we have a lot of consumption,” agreed Quartararo, before suggesting this was not the only occasion that he had wondered about whether he would make the chequered flag.
“It’s never really easy to understand if I will finish the race or not. Because there is a green light, a yellow light and a red light, and I had the red light from the beginning, so sometimes it was off because it was better, [then] I was pushing a bit more and it was red. But I think it’s the position I expect to finish.”
Although Quartararo’s result was a good one under the circumstances, this latest episode aboard the Yamaha will only add to his impatience to get aboard the Honda he will ride in 2027.
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