Quartararo: Yamaha "made big steps" in wet Misano MotoGP practice
Fabio Quartararo says Yamaha has "made big steps" with its MotoGP bike in wet conditions despite ending Friday's damp Emilia Romagna Grand Prix practice sessions only 16th overall.
The championship leader can secure the title this weekend at Misano should he outscore Francesco Bagnaia by at least three points on Sunday.
Typically, this year Quartararo has struggled in wet conditions and once again appeared unstuck in Friday's running at Misano having ended both sessions 18th and 16th.
The Yamaha rider says he actually felt strong in full wet conditions on Friday, but as soon as the track dried he suffered "all the defects you can have".
"To be honest, I'm happy about full wet, because this afternoon straight away I felt really good on the bike and until we stopped, we were in P7," Quartararo said.
"So, I was pretty happy, and then as soon as it dried, you can maybe ask all the Yamaha riders this question, because it's like riding a bike that is totally different.
"The bike won't turn, the bike won't pick up, the bike isn't so great. All the defects you can have in this kind of condition is there.
"But on the full wet, I would not say super happy, but we made big steps since last time we were here, because we had the chance to ride this morning, we had the chance to ride in COTA [in the wet], and we make massive change and it was good.
"So, in the mixed conditions I don't know why we are that bad."
He added: "I give my maximum to try to be in the top 10, that was the goal, but as soon as we stopped, put the medium front [on], I felt it was time to go for it, [with a] new soft rear, I was doing so bad.
"I had no grip, we were almost one second slower than the lap time before with a track that was more dry.
"Basically, a lot of riders that were not super [fast] in full dry, they make a massive step in the mixed conditions, so we need to understand why we are that bad in that condition.
"But not only me who says this, all the Yamahas are struggling in that conditions. So, it's something that we need to find and try to improve."
Though he was 20th at the end of FP2, Quartararo's teammate Franco Morbidelli was able to improve to fifth at the end of FP1 when he fell back to 18th.
But when asked if he could see anything in Morbidelli's data that could help him, he said: "Not really, just he was faster.
"[I saw] nothing that makes me change my riding style. Just he was faster and we need to make that step too."
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