MotoGP News: Fabio Quartararo Labels Morbidelli’s Move a ‘Suicide Attack’

Alex Harrington | Oct 27, 2024

Apr 14, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Fabio Quartararo (20) of France and Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rides in warmups before the start of the MotoGP Grand Prix of The Americas at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The 2024 MotoGP Thai Grand Prix saw a dramatic incident involving riders Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo. The collision at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, specifically turn eight during lap four, became a large plot point of the Grand Prix.

The clash resulted in Quartararo crashing, although he managed to get back on the bike and finish 16th, while Morbidelli later succumbed to a crash at the same corner after being penalized for irresponsible riding.

Fabio Quartararo, the French motorcycle racer competing for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, did not hold back his feelings about the incident. He labeled Morbidelli’s riding as a "suicide attack," marking his discontent with what he perceived as an unnecessarily aggressive move. Quartararo admitted his exasperation,

“Turn eight, I don’t know what I did to this corner, but two times in a row two people kick me out of the race.”

This wasn't the first time Quartararo had faced trouble at this specific corner; a similar incident with Brad Binder during the Sprint added to his frustrations.

"Yesterday was more of a really aggressive move, but today was more a suicide attack. But it’s the race. Unfortunately, we could not control the move from the others.”

Quartararo, often nicknamed "El Diablo," has had a distinguished career since joining MotoGP in 2019, regularly positioning himself as a top contender in the championship. This incident, from his perspective, was out of his control. He highlighted Morbidelli's decision-making, particularly considering the time remaining in the race:

“There were still 20 laps more, so I don’t think it’s three more corners [behind] that will [stop] him from making the podium or the victory, so I have nothing more to say about the incident.”

On the other side of the incident, Franco Morbidelli, Quartararo's teammate and fellow Yamaha rider, accepted his role in the crash. Despite his intentions, his execution on the track fell short. Reflecting on the collision, Morbidelli admitted the following:

“It was a big pity. I was trying to recover, I was really quick and I was trying to recover the starting position and I was trying to make my own way as fast as I could."

“But, actually, with Fabio [Quartararo] I made a mistake.

"I didn’t really want to overtake him, but he braked a little bit earlier than me, so at one point I said ‘Okay, I have to go in and hope that he sees me’.

"But, he didn’t. Probably I arrived too late, and we touched, and he ended up on the ground and this ruined his race, and started the downward spiral for my race.”

Morbidelli's weekend was marred by several mistakes despite showing promise and speed throughout the buildup to the race.

“This weekend we’ve been very quick all weekend long, but in the important moments, I made mistakes,” Morbidelli reflected. “Yesterday in qualifying we could have started in the front row but instead we started 11th because I crashed in turn nine.”

The accumulation of these misjudgments ultimately affected his race strategy and execution, as he noted.

“Today, I was starting 11th and to recover from that I was [rushing too much]. So, a pity. We will learn from this and we will try to bring the same speed, but we will try to be more accurate in important moments.”