Petronas Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo has targeted MotoGP’s Rookie of the Year crown in 2019 and goes into this weekend’s Assen round in much better shape than he started the Barcelona weekend.
The Frenchman underwent arm-pump surgery in the days leading up to Catalunya but it didn’t stop him from claiming pole position and then picking up second place behind Marc Marquez in the race after Jorge Lorenzo scuttled Valentino Rossi, Maverick Vinales and Andrea Dovizioso on lap two.
“We go to Assen motivated after the great result from Barcelona, but we have to keep calm and continue working as we have been so far. We know exactly what our goal is, which is to be Rookie of the Year, so we shouldn’t lose sight of this and keep going step by step,” said Quartararo.
“If we continue working like this, I’m sure that we will enjoy further success, such as the pole and victory we got at the Catalan GP. We had a positive test in Barcelona, so we go to the Netherlands enthusiastic about things.
“I’ve also recovered further from my right forearm operation. Assen is a circuit that I like, I’ve achieved two podiums there, and I’m looking forward to a good weekend.”
