After finishing fifth in the Sprint race – which could have been third, were it not for a penalty – Fabio Quartararo had a lot of difficulties in the main race of the MotoGP Spanish GP. He finished in 15th and experienced arm pump problems, or compartmental syndrome.
The Monster Energy Yamaha rider explained that he was hindered for about half of the race: ‘I had a good start, but on Saturday luck was also a factor as everything was very good up front. I also had a great start in the main race, but couldn’t gain positions. We struggled with rear grip from lap 1. I had a lot of trouble turning, I forced the bike a lot to turn in braking and from the middle of the race I had arm problems. So, from the middle of the race to the end I had to slow down. When you’re riding tight on the bike it’s not good, so in the last ten laps I was just cruising because I couldn’t ride‘.
Last year, Quartararo underwent surgery for compartmental syndrome and, despite the problem resurfacing, he assured that he was not surprised: ‘It wasn’t a surprise. It happened several times this year, but it was never really a limitation. When you feel good on the bike you don’t have it, when you don’t feel everything right, you have it. And in some races I had it, but not so much and not so early. But it’s part of our challenge – also on a day when we tested the bike a bit more in the morning. We thought it was better, but it was a bit worse. That’s what happens‘.
The Frenchman then said: ‘The bike is much more aggressive, and when you ride tighter on the bike you’re not really relaxed on the bike and even when I have to turn I have to push the bike a lot. It wasn’t really what I expected and not so early in the race. I had Pedro [Acosta] and Aleix [Espargaró], I tried to fight with them, but I could clearly see the difference between them, so I think it’s good information for the few laps I was able to see. And hopefully in the test we can make an improvement‘.
This Monday there is a test day in Jerez, but Quartararo assured that the problems in his arm do not worry him: ‘No. Basically when I train at home or in motocross I always have some arm pump, but I’m not worried for the test‘.
