Fabio Quartararo has conceded that Francesco Bagnaia “is the man to beat right now” for the 2022 MotoGP riders crown, and is hoping the “overseas races will provide something positive.”
The series leader was set for a tough outing in the San Marino Grand Prix before the starting lights even went out after qualifying only eighth at the tough-to-pass Misano venue, though he ended moving forward to fifth in the final reckoning having pressured Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales and VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini in the climactic stages.
The Yamaha man’s points advantage took a further hit though as Bagnaia streaked to a fourth consecutive success, bringing the reigning world champion’s lead down from 44 to just 30 with six races still to run.
Quartararo admitted that Bagnaia “is the man to beat” if he wants to secure a second straight title, though accepted that the upcoming overseas events were his chance to turn the tables on the Ducati pilot due to the next encounter in Aragon next time out being “the toughest of the last ones.”
“It was a tough one but actually it is one of the first races where I’m behind the other bikes that I didn’t have any problem of front (tyre) temperature or pressure, I just felt I more or less did the pace I did during practice,” said Quartararo.
“Of course behind the Ducati’s I was struggling more to make my pace compared to if I was alone, but the position was the one we deserved today and we had nothing more.
“Pecco (Bagnaia) was extremely fast all weekend and the last few races, he’s the man to beat right now and he has recovered a lot of points to us so hopefully the tracks coming up overseas will provide something positive for our bike because they are ones we haven’t been to since 2019, so hopefully we can make them work.
“It’s (Aragon GP) going to be the toughest of the last ones I think, but I’m focussed and I want to make a great race there as I have never finished in the top five, so hopefully we can be strong and make a race we can be proud of.”
