Bagnaia Takes Wet Buriram Race Win, Martin Limits the Damage
Francesco Bagnaia closes the gap in the championship with his ninth race win of the season at Buriram. Jorge Martin…
Thanks to a clash with former teammate Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo’s Thai GP race took an early end. The Frenchman was frustrated with Morbidelli’s “overly optimistic” overtake attempt.
“Franco was on the limit when braking and then released the brakes again. That was an overly optimistic manoeuvre,” Quartararo said.
He was clear about his view on the timing: “There were still 20 laps to go! All he had to do was wait for another straight to overtake me in turn 3.”
The incident marked the second race in a row where Quartararo found himself on the receiving end of an aggressive move in Buriram’s Turn 8.
“Turn eight, I don’t know what I did to this corner, but two years in a row two people kick me out of the race there.” He descriced the latest incident as “more of a suicide attack” compared to the “really aggressive move” he experienced in 2023.
Despite these setbacks, Quartararo noted some positives in Yamaha’s overall performance. “Between third and seventh was something realistic,” he assessed, pointing to the consistent gap he maintained to race winner Bagnaia.
With the right conditions, he felt a stronger finish could have been in reach, especially considering his competitive pace even after the crash. “I think that’s quite positive,” he added, despite a damaged bike with missing parts and a bent steering.
“But the bike still depends way too much on the track’s grip, because when the track is grippy we go much better than when there is no grip.”
