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Injured MotoGP title contender Fabio Quartararo admits he has “no strategy” for the Malaysian Grand Prix after struggling to 12th in qualifying.
The Monster Energy Yamaha rider fractured the middle finger on his left hand when he crashed at Turn 8 in Free Practice 4, although his biggest drama would prove to be a near-crash at the same corner in Qualifying 2.
The moment ruined that lap and left Quartararo with not enough time for another before the chequered flag came out, locking him into the back of Row 4 at Sepang.
It is a blow for the 2021 champion as he aims to eat into Francesco Bagnaia’s 14-point lead in this, the second-last round of 2022, although the saving grace is that the Ducati rider qualified just ninth and fellow title contender Aleix Espargaro 10th.
“The pace was not too bad but starting from so far, it’s difficult, so let’s see,” said Quartararo.
“I think starting from P12, you have no strategy.
“The strategy is to try to go as fast as possible, and then see how it’s going, but I think there is not a specific strategy.
“But first, see which tyre to use, because unfortunately we did not have so much time to try the medium and the soft.
“But I think tomorrow [Sunday morning Warm Up], we will try to put more laps on the soft, and see how it’s going.”
Bagnaia crashed in Free Practice 3 at Turn 8, then at Turn 4 in Q2, while Espargaro dropped his Aprilia at Turn 8 in the session which decided pole position.
On that trouble area, Quartararo said, “Yeah, there are many bumps in this corner, but in qualifying as soon as you normally touch the gas, it should be better.
“But as soon as I touched the gas, I lost the front, so it was pretty strange.”
‘El Diablo’ had his finger strapped up for qualifying before being diagnosed with the fracture, but insisted, “Honestly, in qualifying, it was not a problem.”
He added, “It will not be a problem. In the race, I will have many things to think about apart from the finger, and for sure, I will take something [painkillers] for the race.”
Bagnaia needs to finish at least fifth to clinch the championship this weekend, in which case he would be relying on Quartararo to not score points and Espargaro to miss the podium.
