Quartararo “on the limit everywhere” for “best podium” of 2023 MotoGP season
The 2021 world champion enjoyed one of his stronger weekends of the season at the Mandalika track, qualifying fourth before finishing fifth in the sprint. In the grand prix, Quartararo ran in the fight for victory late on with Francesco Bagnaia and Maverick Vinales, ultimately finishing third but just 0.433 seconds from first. It marked his closest finishing margin to the winner all season , with his rostrums in India and America coming 8.855s and 4.936s behind first. “So, for me this is the best podium of the year because, especially in India, I finished eight or nine seconds from Bezzecchi,” he said. “In Austin I made the podium but it was a little bit too far from the winners. “Today I can say I really recovered [the gap] from the top two, I really caught them by my speed – not of consequences of the race. “This is by far the best podium of the year. For Australia, it is different. “Last year it’s a track where we suffered a lot and it’s a tr...