Another crucial weekend lies ahead in Austria and the top three in the title race had their say in the Pre-Event Press Conference
Track action at a new-look Red Bull Ring is almost upon us but first, reigning World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) was joined in the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich Pre-Event Press Conference by Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), 2021 Austrian GP winner Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Maverick Viñales to discuss what might lie ahead this weekend.
Contenders confident of another good weekend
The Red Bull Ring has never been a favoured stomping ground for Yamaha but Quartararo is feeling good coming to Austria. Before the rain fell in last year’s Austrian GP, the Frenchman was battling at the front with the Ducatis and Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), so it’s not necessarily a bad circuit for Yamaha.
“I feel quite good. Especially the second race last year we finished in 7th but before the rain we were fighting quite hard for the podium and victory. So we have the speed, we know how critical it is during the race for us. For pace it’s not a bad track for us but to overtake is where we have more hard work but I wouldn’t say it’s a really bad track for us and I think with the chicane it will be a bit better,” commented the World Championship leader.
In the red corner, Bagnaia and Ducati know how strong they are in the Styrian mountains. Only KTM have managed to beat the Bologna brand to victory since MotoGP™ returned here, and Pecco is the in-form rider at the moment. However, the Italian is all too aware that it’s not going to be easy to replicate previous successes made by Ducati riders at the Red Bull Ring in 2022.
“Yes it’s a good track for us for sure, we demonstrate every year that our bike is competitive but if we look at the last races more than one manufacturer were in front. Last year I was fighting Marc and Fabio for victory, we opened up a two second gap before the rain came,” said Pecco.
“Looking at the characteristics of each bike, I was losing time in sector 3 and gaining time in sector 4, Yamaha was gaining time in sector 3, Honda was…