Quartararo: Home race a bit crazy but we must enjoy

Fabio Quartararo says he’s already bracing for a “crazy” home MotoGP debut at Le Mans but is confident of retaining momentum from a breakthrough round in Spain last time out.

The French rider shocked the paddock by becoming the youngest-ever MotoGP pole-sitter, beating Marc Marquez’s previous record, as he headed up a Petronas Yamaha 1-2 in qualifying. But his hopes of a maiden podium were cruelly dashed while running in second place when he suffered a broken quickshifter which forced him to retire from the race.

Looking to bounce back on home soil, having produced another eye-catching performance at the post-Spain test, Quartararo is bracing for heightened attention and expectation from the Le Mans crowd as both a home favourite and the newest MotoGP star.

“Jerez has been really good for us. First of all we didn’t expect to do the pole position,” Quartararo said. “For the race was really good and for us it was difficult to overtake on the MotoGP bike at that track so it was good to make pole position.

“In the race, the first lap I really struggled to follow Franco [Morbidelli] and Marc [Marque] but at the end I found like two-tenths compared to free practice. I was really good and comfortable on the bike but what happened after is what happened but it was really positive to see a lot of things from Marc during the race.

“It is true, after what happened in Jerez, the fans are now a little bit more crazy but for sure we will need to be focused and not lose energy. Of course we must enjoy the home GP.”