Change Mindset, Quartararo Will Relax Racing At The Valencia GP

JAKARTA - Petronas Yamaha team champion Fabio Quartararo will try to enjoy racing at the Grand Prix of Valencia this weekend even though victory is the only option for him to hold back Joan Mir in locking the world title.

Quartararo is now 37 points adrift of the Suzuki rider with two races remaining in Valencia, Spain and in Portimao, Portugal.

"I think that's the only solution," said Quartararo at the pre-race press conference as reported by Antara from the official MotoGP website, Thursday, November 12.

"Of course, we are going through difficult times but we have to enjoy it, that's the most important thing.

"When you enjoy it, everything becomes easy and the last few races have been quite difficult.

"I think it's important to have a good mindset and think about Sunday. We need a better qualifying result and then fight for victory. If we want to take him to Portimao, that's the only solution," concluded the French rider.

Quartararo was struggling to find his pace on the wet tracks of the Riicardo Tormo Circuit, Valencia, in all four European GP training and qualifying sessions last week and lost many points after falling and was only able to finish P14 in a race on a dry track on Sunday.

Meanwhile, thanks to his first victory in the European GP premier class, Mir widened his distance at the top of the standings and got match points towards the Valencia GP this weekend.

If he finishes on the podium on Sunday, Mir, who is undergoing his second year in MotoGP, will automatically lock the world title, no matter in which position his rivals finish.

Or the easiest scenario, Mir only needs to maintain a minimum advantage of 26 points from his closest rivals after the Valencia GP is over.

Mir's teammate Alex Rins has the same points as Quartararo, and is also eager to pursue his first title with Suzuki.