Liberation for Fabio Quartararo! Weaned from victory since the start of the season, the French world champion reacted on Sunday April 24 by largely winning on the handlebars of his Yamaha during the Portuguese Grand Prix. He won ahead of another Frenchman, Johann Zarco (Ducati-Pramac), who arrived five seconds behind.
Starting fifth, Quartararo already explained at the microphone of Canal + to be ” super happy for the day” qualifying on Saturday. He who had only been on the podium once in four races this season (second in the Indonesian Grand Prix) surely also enjoyed his Sunday a lot, where he seemed to regain his level of performance from 2021.
Quartararo has indeed won his first MotoGP victory in Portugal since the British Grand Prix in August 2021. He thus takes the lead in the world championship on equal points with the Spaniard Alex Rins (Suzuki), 4and in Portugal (69 points). “I pushed myself to the limit”said Fabio Quartararo. “I made a great start and I’m happy to win for the first time this season. »
Johann Zarco opportunist
The day could not have been more beautiful for the tricolor clan, since behind Quartararo, it was Johann Zarco who cut the line in second position. Starting on pole, the Ducati-Pramac rider failed to hold his place, but showed himself to be an opportunist to get on the podium. He took advantage of the clash between Spaniard Joan Mir (Suzuki) and Australian Jack Miller (Ducati) as the three riders were battling for second place.
Zarco said after the finish that he had been ” impressed “ by the domination of Quartararo. “It’s a great French victory but unfortunately it’s not mine”, he explained, although he has never won a race in MotoGP. Remains only the Cannes – 5and in the general classification – thus signing his second podium of the year, after his third place in Indonesia, behind Quartararo. Note that the two Frenchmen had already achieved a double, in the same order, a year ago in Qatar.