Quartararo Explains Ducati's Tire Issue: Where Aprilia Excels Above All

Fabio Quartararo once again finished a Sprint race in frustration after struggling to push the Yamaha M1 to its limits. Starting from 13th, the Frenchman crossed the line 14th after losing positions throughout the laps. Amid his own issues, the 2021 world champion highlighted a key factor he believes makes Aprilia more consistent than Ducati: rear tire temperature management.

Quartararo admitted his feeling with the bike differs from last year, and this lack of confidence directly impacts his performance. "Qualifying and the race didn't go well. If I compare my feeling last year to this year, I'm a very tense rider. I can't bond with the bike and I'm not comfortable at all. But honestly, it's more or less what I expected," he said.

Rear tire wear also played a major role in his Sprint. He explained that he tried to maintain maximum effort throughout the race even as rivals overtook him on acceleration. "Tire wear was quite high, partly because I pushed to the limit the whole race. Moreira and Marini overtook me on the straights, and I tried to stay ahead, but the degradation was significant. I think the medium tire would have been better," he said.

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Looking ahead to the long race, Quartararo sees little reason to expect a major change. His main issue is the difficulty in getting both axles to work in coordination, especially in fast corners. "This is a track where if you can't feel the front and rear working together in fast corners, you're very tense. I know we don't have what I need here, but I don't want to change the bike setup constantly because we always come back to the same point. So tomorrow I'll just use the medium rear and try to make the most of it," he explained.

Interestingly, while his teammate Jack Miller opted for the medium rear in the Sprint, Quartararo rejected that option before the start. His low grid position and the need for grip from the early laps made him choose the soft compound. "Today it was almost impossible to finish in the points. That's why I chose the soft tire. I know Jack started on the medium, but if you start with a harder tire than others and you already know you have less grip, it's almost impossible to score points. Today I gave my best, but it wasn't enough," he said.

His analysis then extended to Ducati's performance. Quartararo believes Ducati's drop-off is more related to tire temperature than conventional degradation. "More than degradation, I think they heat up the rubber quite quickly. When you have better grip, you can play more with the throttle and keep the temperature lower," he said.

It is in this area that he identifies Aprilia's main strength. According to him, the RS-GP manages rear tire temperature better, allowing its riders to maintain competitive pace for more laps. "I think this is where Aprilia is stronger than anyone: they manage to keep the rear tire temperature low, which allows them to maintain high pace longer," he concluded.