It’s an unexpected podium and Fabio Quartararo celebrated it like a victory, at the foot of a stand in Jerez. Twenty-third on the grid, the Yamaha rider gained around ten places at the start, then entered the top 10 on the third lap, thanks to the fall of double world champion Francesco Bagnaia, sandwiched between Brad Binder and Marco Bezzecchi in the third round.
But Quartararo should not have imagined getting back to the podium. For this miracle to happen, it was necessary for the race to turn into a game of bowling from the ninth lap, with falls in series and as if in a well-regulated ballet of Alex Marquez, Binder and Enea Bastianini. In the process, it was the turn of Marc Marquez, who was in the lead, to lose the front of his Ducati.
“I had a very good first round and that counted a lot,” Quartararo summed up on Canal+. Then, there was a fairly favorable luck factor but I managed to hold on, in particular to resist Dani Pedrosa, who was behind me the whole race and who was faster than me since the start of the weekend. I’m very happy, we learned a lot of things today (Saturday), both on the tire and on the bike’s settings. We are going to take advantage of this first podium. »
Jorge Martin took the opportunity to race to victory, his second of the season in a sprint, and increase his lead in the Championship. The Spaniard is ahead of Pedro Acosta, who was sixth before these falls, while Quartararo resisted the return of veteran Dani Pedrosa.
Johann Zarco came very close to a comeback. Fifth at the start of the last turn, the Frenchman was passed by Franco Morbidelli then lost control of his Honda. Infuriating.
