The Yamaha rider enjoyed a morale-boosting podium in Saturday's sprint race, despite finishing fourth on the road behind KTM’s Brad Binder, as he was promoted to third following a track limits penalty for the South African.
“That was the only way for me to overtake Brad,” joked the French rider after what was just his second podium of the season. “But I had more pace than him today [Saturday]. I just couldn’t overtake him.”
But though overtaking remains a challenge, Quartararo believes that if he can get ahead of the pack at the start of today’s grand prix, which he will line up fourth on the grid, then he can hold off any rivals.
“[Keeping a position] is basically all that we can do. I started the sprint in P4 and I finished in P4.
“But if we start better, maybe we can stay there – at least on this track. There are some tracks where we could start in front and it wouldn’t matter!”
Source: Autosport