The 2021 world champion was nudged off observe at Flip 7 by LCR Honda’s Nakagami on the opening lap of Sunday’s moist Argentina GP and dropped from tenth to sixteenth.
This compelled Quartararo right into a restoration trip, with the Yamaha rider ending simply behind KTM’s Jack Miller in seventh. The incident was positioned below investigation, however the FIM stewards deemed no additional motion was essential.
Quartararo was left bemused by this determination and highlighted how a tamer transfer within the Moto3 race on Sunday resulted in Ayumu Sasaki being demoted one place by the stewards.
“No, I don’t perceive what they’re doing,” Quartararo responded when requested if he understood the stewards’ penalty determination on Nakagami. “I watched the Moto3 race: Ayumu in Flip 5 make an overtake that was actually clear, however he barely touched [another rider and got a penalty], the place in MotoGP we’re doing it on a regular basis.
“He [Sasaki] received dropped one place and he [Taka] simply destroyed my race in a single nook and didn’t get something. I don’t know, it’s nonetheless the identical folks doing this stuff.”
Takaaki Nakagami, Workforce LCR Honda
Picture by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
This follows on from widespread criticism of MotoGP’s stewarding throughout final week’s Portuguese GP.
With out the Nakagami conflict, Quartararo believes he might have joined fourth-placed team-mate Franco Morbidelli inside the highest 5 and was happy along with his tempo within the moist.
However on the finish of a troublesome weekend for the Yamaha rider, Quartararo admits the Japanese marque is but to discover a true base set-up on the bike having solely had one ‘actual’ day of testing in pre-season.
“I imply, ‘numerous positives’, I wouldn’t say that,” he stated about his weekend in Argentina. “However it’s constructive that within the moist we confirmed nice tempo, we confirmed that within the dry really, our first day of take a look at we had was the final day of Portimao [test] and we don’t have our base.
“FP1 we tried a motorcycle, FP2 we wished to attempt nevertheless it was nonetheless troublesome. Within the dash race I began with one other setting. If the [main] race was dry I’d have tried one other bike. We’re nonetheless not prepared.
“I’m at all times indignant as a result of I wish to be up there, however I do know there may be lots of work to do to be on high.”
Quartararo is just 32 factors down on new championship chief Marco Bezzecchi – who gained the Argentina GP – in spite of everything foremost title challengers struggled in Argentina.
Regardless of this, Quartararo refuses to speak about his personal title hopes, stating: “If I begin to consider the championship proper now with out preventing for a high 5, I feel it’s dangerous.
“So first I wish to work as a lot as doable to discover a answer [to fix the bike], after which we are able to discuss in regards to the championship.”
