Quartararo survives dramatic fall to set British MotoGP pace
Issued on: Modified:
Silverstone (United Kingdom) (AFP) –
World championship leader Fabio Quartararo swept to the top of the time charts in both practice sessions at the British MotoGP on Friday despite a dramatic fall.
The 22-year-old French Yamaha rider hurt his left ankle when he slipped at turn eight at Silverstone.
Despite the pain, he still managed to reach the pits. Limping, he then continued his afternoon's pace-setting work.
"Everything is okay. My left foot is a little bit sore, but it's nothing too serious. I've been to the medical centre and went back on the bike, and it was okay," said the French rider.
"On the bike it's not an issue, just when I'm walking I have quite a lot of pain. But, honestly, the most important thing is that on the bike I have no pain."
Quartararo has 181 points in the championship race, 47 ahead of Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia and reigning world champion Joan Mir of Suzuki.
On Friday, he clocked 1min 59.317sec ahead of Australia's Jack Miller on a Ducati and Spain's Jorge Martin of Ducati-Pramac.
The Hondas of Pol Espargaro and six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez, who crashed at 274km/h, were the next fastest.
Two favourites were absent from the crucial top 10 places -- Mir and Johann Zarco, currently fourth in the championship, of Ducati-Pramac.
Cal Crutchlow, drafted in by Yamaha to replace the axed Maverick Vinales, was 16th fastest.
"It was a day of learning again. I hadn't ridden the 2021 bike since the start of April," said the Briton.
"Overall, it was not a bad day. I felt okay and comfortable enough. I wanted to be a bit faster than I was, but this is the situation at the moment. I felt we did a good job."
Times
MotoGP
1. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha) 1:59.317, 2. Jack Miller (AUS/Ducati) at 0.512, 3. Jorge Martin (ESP/Ducati-Pramac) 0.622, 4. Pol Espargaro (ESP/Honda) 0.718, 5. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) 0.734, 6. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) 0.785, 7. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Aprilia) 0.902, 8. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM) 0.998, 9. Alex Rins (ESP/Suzuki) 1.075, 10. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha-SRT) 1.083
Selected
13. Joan Mir (ESP/Suzuki) 1.408, 14. Johann Zarco (FRA/Ducati-Pramac) 1.493
© 2021 AFP