easily go wrong. And have done,
at Jerez quite badly.
In consequence, a single third
place at a depleted U.S. GP sits
alongside three zero scores out
of a possible eight (counting
the sprint races) so far. He sits
a lowly 11th overall, 47 points
adrift of leader Bagnaia.
This is not insuperable, with
16 sprint and 16 full-length rac
-
es left, offering a grand total of
592
points (555, should rumors
prove true that the new Indian
GP will follow the Kazakhstan
race into cancellation).
But it is ominous, especially
after the Spanish GP, where
the Frenchman might have
expected his season to regain
momentum. Jerez, a twisty and
technical circuit, is one of the
French rider's favorites, and, has
over the years, also been kind to
the sweet-handling R1.
Quartararo's happy Jerez
record began in 2015 with his
maiden Moto3 pole. In five
MotoGP outings, he scored four
poles and another front row,
plus two wins and a second.
This year, after three more
or less dismal opening rounds,
he struggled to qualify 16th,
two places below chronically
embattled teammate Morbidelli.
He was a pointless 12th in
Saturday's sprint and salvaged
10th and six points on Sunday
in a crash-hit field, after two
long-lap penalties. The first was
punishment for having triggered
a first-lap crash that injured the
hapless Miguel Oliveira and
brought red flags. Fabio and
O
ne bad race might be a
fluke. One bad season a
set-back. But when the
problems persist into the next,
it's beginning to look like Game
Over for 2021's dominant cham-
pion Fabio Quartararo and the
once-exemplary
Yamaha inline
four. At least for this season,
and maybe forever.
A series of poor qualifying
performances this year has
yielded problematic grid posi-
tions, further undermined by
slow
starts in and among the
jostling pack, where things can
P140
CN II IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
S IT
GAME OVER
FOR THE
INLINE
FOUR?
I
