Quartararo on top of the world after twin wins

The Frenchman won in Portugal on Sunday as well as in the previous round in Doha

Yamaha factory rider Fabio Quartararo has expressed happiness after winning two races on the trot in the 2021 MotoGP season.

The first race in Qatar was won by his teammate and Spaniard Maverick Vinales, while Quartararo triumphed in Doha and Portugal (on Sunday).

The Frenchman and championship leader said: “My start was good but the others had a better one. I am so happy because I did not expect that pace. We did more in the '39s than the ’40s. We felt a lot that the fuel was going down. In the middle of the race, the pace was amazing, I knew we had a little bit of extra pace from Alex (Rins) and he was running so fast. Honestly, the pace I set today was unexpected,” he said during the post-race press conference.

"Honestly, Yamaha have made a big step compared to last year, but for me mentally, I feel stronger last year till the end to fight with Joan (Mir, of Suzuki) to fight for the championship. Last year, when the bike was not going great, I was thinking negative. But I changed and began to think positive. Some of the things on the bike were not working well, but I began to think about the things that were working well. I was focussed today and 70 per cent of things are in the mind," he added.

Ducati rider and Italian Francesco Bagnaia finished second and said: “I think the maximum possible was the second place. There was a big gap to recover. Yesterday (on Saturday), we lost the possibility to win and maybe was the same second. But Fabio set a very strong pace and no one was expecting a pace like this. Their tyres were working very well. I think we did an amazing job. It was not easy in the race and, in some corners, it was not easy to overtake.

“I was thinking that if I was in front till the last corner, it was impossible for him (Mir) to overtake me. That is because our acceleration is very strong and I had a good last lap,” he elaborated.

Reigning world champion and Suzuki rider Joan Mir explained: “With Bagnaia, I did not expect what they did to me in Qatar. I knew that if I do not overtake in the last lap, it will be impossible to overtake on the straight. But it was a positive weekend overall. This probably is not the best track for me but I am on the podium. So, I am happy. In the warm-up, I felt really, really strong. In the middle of the race, I had some trouble with the front part of the bike and I began to go backwards. Towards the end, I was able to survive and put on a positive pace.”

Several top riders crashed out of the race including Jack Miller, Valentino Rossi, Johann Zarco, Alex Rins and Pol Espargaro.