Fabio Quartararo has revealed that his crash during the MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix sprint race was triggered by "yo-yo" racing with LCR Honda's Diogo Moreira. The 2021 world champion was battling with Moreira for 11th place in the early laps of the 11-lap sprint when he fell while attempting an overtake at Turn 14.
Quartararo explained that the yo-yo pattern—where he lost ground on the straights and closed in through the corners—forced him to take greater risks. "With Diogo on the straights, we were playing likeg he was pulling away, trying to catch, yo-yo," he said. "So, I struggled a lot. In Turn 11, I went in super, super quick. I braked late in Turn 12, I was pretty close."
However, the main issue according to Quartararo was the lack of rear support under braking. "The problem is, we have zero support from the rear when we are trying to stop," he explained. "And already going in, it was too late to stay behind. So, I had to go and my front was locking already straight. When I leaned, I just tried to maximise the corner, but at the end I maximised too much because I crashed. Unfortunately, I didn't stay on my wheels."
Despite the crash, Quartararo was able to remount and finish the sprint in 21st place, just under 2.5 seconds behind Honda's Joan Mir. The result highlighted the difficulties faced by all Yamaha riders in the Misano sprint. Jack Miller led the Yamaha contingent in 17th, just over three seconds ahead of Quartararo at the chequered flag.
Quartararo's teammate, Alex Rins, branded the Frenchman's pace "impressive" after the crash and expects a strong grand prix from him. "Tomorrow is going to be tough," Rins said. "We suffered a lot. I was there with Toprak and then Miller with no chances. It was difficult to brake later, difficult to get the traction. It's impressive the pace that Fabio showed, because after a crash he was recovering almost one second, half a second, per lap. So, he was coming really, really fast. But for us, it is what it is."
Rins added that Quartararo has an advantage over the other Yamaha riders this weekend. "It's clear that he has more than us this weekend. So, I think he can do a great race tomorrow. For us, one of our targets is to be there in the points. It's going to be difficult, but we will try."
With this sprint result, Quartararo and Yamaha still have work to do to improve their performance in Sunday's main race. The speed Quartararo showed before the crash offers hope, but consistency and technical support from the M1 remain a major challenge for the Japanese manufacturer.
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