Catalan Grand Prix victor Fabio Quartararo admitted he didn’t think he was “going to turn” after diving to the inside of pole-man Aleix Espargaro into Turn 1 off the start.
The Yamaha rider dominated the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya sprint as he led every lap en-route to a 6.4 second victory margin over Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin, extending his series lead to 22 points over Aleix Espargaro in the process.
The Frenchman admitted post-race though that he felt he was lucky to have made it around the opening turn in the lead after firing down the inside of Espargaro in an attempt to try and control the contest from the front, following his recent problems with front tyre pressures while stuck behind other riders.
“I wanted to be first into the opening corner, and when I braked that late I didn’t think I was going to turn,” explained Quartararo.
“I braked super-hard and the confidence was there, then it was a long race because I was first from the first corner until the end and I felt like I was riding at my best.
“Every weekend I feel I am riding better and learning how to faster and more consistent, I feel like a rider that is improving so much.”
The reigning MotoGP world champion conceded that he felt the Italy-Spain double-header events were “almost perfect” having scored a total of 45 points from a possible 50, revealing that he “knew I could go faster” while controlling proceedings in Barcelona.
“It’s been almost perfect (across double-header races in Italy and Spain) but I didn’t expect to win here, today I felt like I could win but on Friday I felt that a top five would be great,” continued Quartararo.
“Saturday was better and I felt like I was one of the strongest on pace, Sunday morning with the used tyre I was fast and then in the race I was feeling amazing and was controlling myself.
“Even when I had a one second lead I knew I could go faster, so I felt much better.
“It was a fantastic day (for the championship) and it feels super special because I’ve achieved my tenth win in MotoGP which is incredible because when I was a kid I dreamed about being a MotoGP rider and today I’ve got ten wins so I think we are in good shape for the future.”
